U.S. Department Of Interior Plan To Expand Offshore Drilling Draws Ire From Some Republicans
As The Hill reported, on Nov. 20, President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a plan to open new oil and gas drilling off the coast of California, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico near Florida, and in other states. In general, the proposal greatly expands offshore drilling plans.
More specifically, as the Interior Department’s press release explained, the plan includes as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of 27 existing Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres. That number includes 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Gulf of Mexico, and six along the Pacific coast.
The Interior Department’s plan would replace a Biden administration plan that had proposed just three offshore lease sales, all in the Gulf of Mexico, between 2024 and 2029. “Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production. By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.”
The proposal has drawn rare criticism of the Trump administration from members of the president’s own party. The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) noted that, in 2020, President Trump blocked drilling off Florida’s coasts. Spokesperson Molly Best told The Hill, “Our Administration supports the 2020 Presidential Memorandum and urges the Department of Interior to reconsider and to conform to the 2020 Trump Administration policy.”
Read more about the Trump administration’s plan in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s “National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program” report.