Biden admin quietly settles with eco groups to restrict oil drilling in Gulf of Mexico

The Biden administration quietly agreed to a number of oil and gas leasing restrictions requested by environmental groups in a late Friday agreement filed in federal court.

"This private settlement agreement between the federal government and environmental activists places unfounded restrictions on operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that severely hamper America's ability to produce energy in a region that is responsible for the lowest carbon-intensive barrels in the world," the American Petroleum Institute (API) and EnerGeo Alliance said in a joint statement.  Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

"Despite no evidence to warrant this far-reaching ban on operations after extensive data collections, today’s agreement undermines the integrity of legitimate conservation and habitat protection efforts, violates the explicit directives of Congress in enacting the Inflation Reduction Act, and harms America’s energy independence," the two industry groups added.