The United States will ban offshore oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres (253 million hectares) on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in a blow to president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to increase oil drilling.
The memorandum, signed by President Joe Biden, impacts the country’s entire Atlantic coast, the continental U.S.’ Pacific coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Northern Bering Sea.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” said Biden. “It is not worth the risks.”
The move does not affect any areas where offshore oil and gas drilling currently occurs.
“I see it just came over that Biden has banned all oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal territory. It's ridiculous. I'll unban it immediately,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in response.
Biden’s memorandum was issued under the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which allows U.S. presidents to prevent parts of the Outer Continental Shelf from being leased for energy extraction. The law does not include provisions for later presidents to reverse these decisions.
“Congress and the incoming administration should fully leverage the nation’s vast offshore resources as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue and stability around the world. We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing,” said American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers.
Trump hopes to significantly ramp up oil drilling off the U.S. coast, as well as on federal land.
The incoming administration plans to approve export permits for new liquefied natural gas projects, as well as reapprove the cancelled Keystone Pipeline that would transport oil from Canada to the U.S.
