New Interior Department documents show that the Trump administration is planning to hold an auction for oil and natural gas drilling leases at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana later this week.
According to documents obtained by Politico’s Energy Wire, the Interior Department is expected to provide companies with an opportunity to secure oil and natural gas leases for almost 2,000 acres at the Barksdale Air Force Base on Thursday. The outlet noted that the auction, which will be held by the Bureau of Land Management, will offer companies 10 years to drill inside Barksdale Air Force Base’s forested areas or access oil and gas deposits from locations outside the Air Force base.
Asked about the upcoming oil and gas lease auction, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Senate’s Environment & Public Works Committee, responded, “Where all the B-52s are?”
“There are places where it does make sense, and we still need oil,” Kelly added. “I wouldn’t want it to interfere with missions of a military base — that should always take precedent.”
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate’s Energy & Natural Resources Committee, warned that oil drilling at military bases could create “additional targets” for potential adversaries and suggested that “it’s not what military bases are supposed to be for.”
Meanwhile, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), another member of the Senate’s Energy & Natural Resources Committee, said, “I haven’t heard about this before. But I don’t know why it would be an issue.”
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According to Barksdale Air Force Base’s website, the Louisiana base is one of the two B-52 Stratofortress bomber bases in the United States.
Laurel Falls, and Air Force spokesperson told Energy Wire that Barksdale Air Force Base currently has six active oil leases, with some of the leases stretching back to the 1950s.
“Following increasing interest from local companies beginning in March 2018, the Department of the Interior has recently requested an additional lease for previously unleased areas,” Falls stated. “The installation has processes in place to mitigate security risks as defined in their Integrated Defense Plan to ensure they are safeguarding their people and mission. There are minimal concerns related to these oil leases as do not require surface access on the installation.”
Elizabeth Peace, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, confirmed that companies bidding on the new oil and gas drilling leases at Barksdale Air Force base will have to be “responsible and qualified” under rules established by the Bureau of Land Management.
Peace added, “Any future offerings near military installations will be evaluated case by case.”
