A proposed version of the next five-year offshore leasing programme will be released by the US Department of the Interior by the end of June. Testifying before the US Senate Committee on Energy Natural Resources, US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the newest version of the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil Gas Leasing Program will be released no later than 30 June - the expiry date of the 2017-2022 leasing plan. However, the proposed version will not go into effect at that time, leaving the US without an offshore leasing programme for an undetermined period of time. During her testimony, Haaland blamed the administration of former US President Donald Trump for the delay in issuing a new five-year plan. "The previous administration stopped work on the new five-year plan in 2018, so there has been a lot to do to catch up," she said. Haaland declined to say whether any new offshore oil and gas leases will be part of the proposed programme. She added that the five-year plan "requires a robust and transparent review process that includes input from states, the public and tribes to inform our decision-making", and said there was no specific date set for when the final version would be released.
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