A coalition of oil and gas groups is warning that a federal court decision to throw out a 2020 biological opinion on drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico could result in “a wide and substantial swath of offshore oil and gas operations and activities” being “shut down on December 20, 2024.” 

Their letter is in response to a ruling by a Maryland federal court judge, Deborah Boardman, who, in siding with environmental groups who brought the case, decreed that the 2020 biological opinion, conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, “underestimated the risk and harms of oil spills to protected species.” The plaintiffs also claimed that the analysis failed to consider the likelihood of another catastrophic oil spill, such the one involving the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010. 

The order, issued at the end of August, effectively vacated the previous environmental analysis of energy operations in the Gulf and directed the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct a new biological assessment. 

However, without a new opinion at the ready, energy groups worry that a shutdown of oil and gas development in the Gulf could be imminent “unless a legal, regulatory or legislative solution that prevents a gap between biological opinions is in place before then,” they wrote. 

The president of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, the group behind the statement, Tim Tarpley, denounced the “misguided” ruling as a “potentially grave threat to America’s energy security and economic prosperity” that could “shut down oil and gas operations across the Gulf of Mexico and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity.” 

Mr. Tarpley added that the Gulf provides nearly 15 percent of the country’s crude oil supply and provides an estimated 372,000 jobs. “Abruptly halting these operations would have devastating consequences for energy prices, national security, and American families already struggling with inflation,” he wrote, urging Congress to prevent energy operations from being disrupted. 

Other energy groups behind the statement include the Independent Petroleum Association of America, US Oil and Gas Association, National Ocean Industries Association, Western Energy Alliance, and the International Association of Drilling Contractors. 

The letter concludes: “The decision to vacate the 2020 Biological Opinion fails to consider the far-reaching consequences that will extend well beyond the Gulf of Mexico. We urge decision-makers to recognize the complexity of this issue and its potential effect not just to our industry, but to the American people and the broader global energy landscape. IADC stands ready to work with all stakeholders to find a long-term solution that ensures environmental protection without sacrificing the vital role of Gulf energy production.”

The coalition of energy groups aren’t the only ones voicing objections to the ruling. Senator Bill Cassidy slammed the court’s decision as being “against the American worker” and “against the American economy.” 

“They’re also, by the way, since U.S. natural gas helps lower global greenhouse gas emissions, they’re against the world environment,” he said on Fox news earlier this month. “It’s overactive courts doing a heck of a lot of damage.” 

However, the environmental groups behind the cause lauded the ruling as a victory. 

“We thought from the beginning when the National Marine Fisheries Service put out their biological opinion that was published in 2020 that it was flawed,” said the director for the Turtle Island Restoration Network, one of the organizations behind the suit, Joanie Steinhaus. “It did not recognize the species of concern, and it did not give them proper protection.”

Ms. Steinhaus continued: “We feel that this is an opportunity for them to get it right, to have the protections in place that will allow the oil and gas exploration. They will continue to do their work. It is not going to hamper their work, but it will also set up new guidelines for the protection of these species. 

Correction: 2010 is the year that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill took place. An earlier edition misstated the year.