自去年6月前一项协议到期以来，美国一直没有国会授权的五年海上石油和天然气拍卖计划。
这一过程受到了石油和天然气行业以及环保人士的密切关注。石油和天然气行业一直在敦促政府增加租赁，以增加国内燃料供应，而环保人士说，油气钻探与抗击气候变化的承诺相冲突。
在去年7月公布的一项提案中，政府表示，下一个五年计划将有0至11宗租赁销售，但没有承诺完成这一过程的时间表。
美国内政部周一在提交给美国哥伦比亚特区上诉法院的一份文件中表示，与这个五年计划有关的“所有必要的分析、批准和强制性程序步骤”将在今年12月前完成。
美国石油学会(American Petroleum Institute)提起诉讼，称美国内政部未能最终确定海上油气钻探计划，违反了法律，而美国内政部正在为自己辩护。
美国内政部表示，在今年年底之前，它必须审查并回应公众对其拟议计划的76万条评论，并对温室气体排放、租赁收益和空气质量等进行分析。
拟议的最终方案预计将于9月完成，并在经过60天的等待期后于12月获得批准。
原文如下：
US Expects to Finalize Five-year Offshore Drilling Plan in December
The Administration needs until the end of this year to finalize a long-awaited five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development in federal waters, according to court documents filed this week.
The U.S. has been without a congressionally-mandated five year schedule of offshore oil and gas auctions since the previous one expired in June 2022.
The process is being closely watched by the oil and gas industry, which has pressed for more leasing to boost domestic fuel supplies, and by environmentalists, who say drilling conflicts with President's promise to fight climate change.
In a proposal unveiled in July, the administration said the next plan would have anywhere from zero to 11 lease sales, but it did not commit to a timeline for completing the process.
It will take until December to complete "all necessary analyses, approvals, and mandatory procedural steps" related to the plan, the Interior Department said in a filing on Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Interior is defending itself in a lawsuit filed by the American Petroleum Institute alleging the agency broke the law by failing to finalize an offshore drilling plan.
Before the end of this year, Interior said it must review and respond to 760,000 public comments on its proposed plan and conduct analyses on greenhouse gas emissions, leasing benefits and air quality, among others.
The proposed final program is expected to be completed in September and approved in December following a 60-day waiting period.
