The total number of oil and gas spills in each state was higher in 2021 compared to 2020. New Mexico operators reported a record number of drilling-related spills in 2021, as well as billions of cubic feet of wasted methane.

The total number of oil and gas spills in each state was higher in 2021 compared to 2020. New Mexico operators reported a record number of drilling-related spills in 2021, as well as billions of cubic feet of wasted methane.
This dashboard provides an at-a-glance look at federal onshore oil and gas activity under the Biden administration, including statistics from past and upcoming lease sales. This dashboard will be regularly updated.
An at-a-glance look at onshore oil and gas leasing and permitting under the Biden administration.
The oil and gas industry has spent recent months fear mongering about the Biden administration’s temporary pause on new federal oil and gas leases; however, new analysis finds that the industry has been forfeiting drilling leases and permits for years.
Each year, the Center for Western Priorities tracks oil and gas-related spills in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, assessing what spilled, where spills occur, and what companies are responsible, among other factors. Check out the latest data, or explore reports from past years.
After a decade of racking up immense debt and rarely turning a profit, oil and gas corporations were briefly hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global oil glut. Now, oil prices have rebounded. However, the Interior Department is bending over backwards to continue bailing out the industry—lowering royalty rates and granting lease suspensions, sidestepping their responsibility to provide taxpayers a fair return for publicly-owned oil and gas.
At lease once per quarter, the Bureau of Land Management offers up parcels of publicly-owned oil and gas at auction, primarily under public lands. These parcels can be purchased for as little as $2/acre. The Trump administration rushed to offer tens of million of acres for oil and gas development; however, oil and gas companies have only leased one fifth of the acreage offered at auction. This dashboard was continuously updated during the Trump administration.