President Joe Biden will announce a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas development, covering 625 million acres of US coastal waters. The decision, expected to be unveiled Monday, will prohibit drilling rights in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The move leaves room for potential oil and natural gas leasing in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, regions that currently contribute around 14% of the nation’s production of these fuels.
This action aims to bolster Biden’s climate legacy and aligns with his administration’s target to decarbonise the US economy by 2050. The decision leverages the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which grants presidents broad authority to restrict drilling activities permanently.
Legal precedent suggests the ban may be difficult for future administrations to reverse. A federal judge previously ruled in 2019 that the law does not grant presidents the power to overturn existing offshore drilling bans, thwarting former President Donald Trump’s attempt to reverse Arctic and Atlantic protections implemented by President Barack Obama.
The White House has not commented on the report, and official details are expected to be confirmed with Biden’s announcement.
