Biden protects over 625 million acres of U.S. waters from offshore drilling

DENVER— President Joe Biden has announced prohibitions on future oil and gas drilling across parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Northern Bering Sea.

This withdrawal will not affect the majority of offshore drilling in the U.S., which takes place in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, according to E&E News. The federal government has not allowed drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico since the early 1990s.

The Center for Western Priorities issued the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala: 

“With today’s action President Biden continues to build a great conservation legacy. This will protect hundreds of coastal communities from the dangers of oil and gas drilling. The United States is already producing more oil and gas than ever before. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry is sitting on over 10 million acres of unused drilling leases on public lands and over 6,000 unused drilling permits. Now is the time to expand clean energy, not double down on fossil fuel extraction.”

Learn more:

• Biden Drilling Dashboard — Center for Western Priorities
• Biden administration finalizes Western Solar Plan — Reuters
• EIA: US leads global oil production for sixth straight year — Reuters