The Biden administration on Friday said it has resumed plans for oil and natural gas development on US federal lands, a move that could break a pledge Joe Biden made while campaigning for president, Reuters reported.

The plan calls for the government to lease fewer acres for drilling than initially proposed, charge steeper royalties to oil and natural gas companies, and assess the climate impact of developing the acreage.

Friday's announcement would make roughly 144,000 acres available for oil and natural gas drilling through a series of lease sales—an 80% reduction from the footprint of land that had been under evaluation for leasing, the US Interior Department said in a statement.

It would also require companies to pay royalties of 18.75% of the value of extracted oil and natural gas products, up from 12.5%.

The proposal was quickly denounced by several environmental groups, with one calling it "a reckless failure of climate leadership." Oil industry groups praised the move, but said it did not go far enough.

The announcement by the Interior Department, made late Friday before a holiday weekend, is the latest move to reform the federal oil and natural gas leasing program since Biden took office in January 2021. 

The Democrat had pledged several times during his presidential campaign to halt federal drilling auctions, but that effort has been stymied by a court challenge from Republican-led states.

The Biden administration has taken several steps to tame surging gasoline prices and inflation, made worse by crude oil prices spiking due to the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia by the United States and its allies.

Inflation is seen as a significant liability for Democrats heading into the November mid-term elections.