Nov. 20 (UPI) — Offshore oil and gas drilling might resume in federally controlled waters near California and in some waters near Florida after being banned for decades.
The Interior Department released a five-year plan Thursday supporting offshore drilling leases, which would include up to 34 lease auctions in federal waters sometime between 2026 and 2031, according to Politico.
The auctions would include up to six sites near Southern California, two near Florida in the Gulf of Mexico and 21 near Alaska- including the High Arctic, where no oil drilling has been carried out.
“The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a prepared statement.
“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,” Burgum said.
The Interior Department’s offshore drilling proposal would enable drilling near the California coastline for the first time since 1969 and enable drilling about 100 miles from Florida’s Gulf Coast despite past opposition from that state’s leaders, CNN reported.
Offshore leases would be offered in waters near southern and central California in 2027 and northern California two years later.
Leases in the Eastern Gulf also would be made available in 2029.
Oil and gas drilling has occurred for several decades in the Central Gulf, and those involved in the nation’s oil industry have advocated for allowing drilling in areas adjacent to those where it already is happening, according to CNN.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has said Burgum assured him that no new drilling would endanger Florida’s economy, which suffered greatly amid the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that devastated much of the state’s Gulf coastal waters and related industries.
In California, state and local leaders are vowing to challenge any attempts to allow offshore drilling near that state.
The Interior Department’s proposal marks a shift in President Donald Trump‘s policy toward offshore drilling, which he did not expand near Florida during his first term.
The president has cited a need for more energy sources to support U.S. consumers and the growing artificial intelligence industry, which is increasing demand for domestic energy sources.
