Will the sequester slow oil and gas drilling?

Texans on the Potomac reports that the across the board cuts mandated by the sequester will impact the Interior Department's ability to process drilling leases on public lands. Will this persuade the energy sector to get involved to stop the sequester?:

Oil and gas leasing programs are among the initiatives that could get slashed if Congress doesn’t stop automatic spending cuts set to begin March 1, a top congressional Democrat warned today.

The warning from Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. came as the Obama administration stepped up pressure on lawmakers to agree to a deal to avert the across-the-board spending cuts. Flanked by firefighters and other emergency responders at the White House on Tuesday morning, President Barack Obama appealed to Congress to pass a short-term fix, lest the cuts jeopardize “investments in education, health care and national defense.”

But those aren’t the only investments and programs at risk, Markey suggests. An 8.2 percent spending cut at the Interior Department would translate to fewer offshore drilling inspectors and fewer onshore drilling leases, Markey said. Permitting of oil and gas projects on public lands and waters also could slow down, Markey speculated.

“Republicans say they want to drill, baby, drill,” Markey said, invoking the GOP chant that caught on after oil price spikes in 2008. “Yet by letting the sequester go forward, Republicans in Congress will put the brakes on oil and gas development on public lands in America and reduce our ability to protect against another offshore drilling disaster.”