In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years.
That stands to undercut President-elect Joe Biden's plans to block new drilling on public lands to address climate change.
Its effect could be further blunted by companies that stockpiled enough drilling permits in Trump's final months to allow them to keep pumping oil and gas for years.
Oil and gas extracted from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of annual U.S. production.
But there are other ways an ambitious Biden administration could make it harder for permit holders to extract oil and gas.