Drill Baby Drill? Political and Market Influences on Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing in the Western United States

This paper examines the influence of the federal political environment on the number of leases that were issued for oil and natural gas development on Bureau of Management (BLM) lands in the western United States between 1983 and 2008. Using a fixed effects model for a 17-state sample of the westernmost states in the contiguous United States, the findings indicate oil and natural gas prices were jointly significant predictors of both non-competitive leasing and overall leasing outcomes, but were not independently statistically significant. In terms of political influence, regulatory shifts played a significant role in determining the type of leasing; competitive versus non-competitive, though ideological influence was not robustly significant. Lastly, there was not consistent variation in political influence between states with substantial BLM lands and those with minimal BLM lands, although there were some disparate effects on non-competitive leasing.