The Department of the Interior (DOI) unveiled its proposal Thursday to open broad swaths of coastal waters to oil and gas drilling in a move that has drawn bipartisan resistance.
The DOI directed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Thursday to take the “necessary steps” to eliminate former President Joe Biden’s 2024-2029 oil and gas leasing scheme. The Trump approved “expansive” replacement plan seeks to develop 1.27 billion acres of viable extraction sites.
After the Biden administration imposed a broad offshore drilling ban and set a record-low leasing schedule, the Trump administration is now pushing to restart development across federal lands and waters. The new proposal seeks to explore drilling off the coasts of Alaska, California and Florida.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has staunchly opposed the idea of drilling in Golden State waters, and even some Florida republicans have also come out against the proposal, according to E&E News.
Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” DOI Secretary Doug Burgum said Thursday. “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 Golden State may soon be facing a gas crisis as multiple major refineries prepare to shutter and more stringent regulations on the oil and gas industries take effect.
Florida Republicans including Sen. Rick Scott, Sen. Ashley Moody, Rep. Gus Bilirakis and Rep. Vern Buchanan told E&E News they wanted the state to remain off limits to offshore oil and gas lease expansion. Scott and Bilirakis stopped short of condemning the DOI proposal, while Buchanan and Moody remain firmly opposed to any drilling off Florida’s beaches.
The new maps released today by @SecretaryBurgum and @Interior outlining potential new offshore oil drilling sites in the Gulf of America are HIGHLY concerning — and we will be engaging directly with the department on this issue,” Moody wrote on X on Thursday.
President Donald Trump signed a day one executive order to “unleash American energy” and declared a national energy emergency. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) went further, instructing the DOI and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to open more domestic energy exploration opportunities and “immediately resume onshore quarterly lease sales in specified states.”
Trump has emphasized boosting conventional energy sources, which contrasts with Biden’s stifling of the oil and gas industry. Biden froze liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, blocked the major Keystone XL pipeline and halted BLM lease approvals on his first day as president, instead championing a green energy agenda to the tune of billions in subsidies, loans and grants.
Energy sector insiders like American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers celebrated the plan, stating that “after years of delay in federal leasing, this is a historic step toward unleashing our nation’s vast offshore resources.”
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