Just a few weeks after Donald Trump’s inauguration in the United States, Joe Biden prohibits oil drilling on the country’s coasts. The measure also applies to gas, covering more than 250 million hectares.
The decision can be seen as a significant setback for the president-elect, who is in favor of increasing fossil fuel production.
Biden bans oil drilling: which areas are covered
The measure encompasses the entire Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts off California, Oregon, and Washington. It also reaches a portion of the Bering Sea off Alaska, according to a statement from the White House.
The decision protects more than 253 million hectares of waters. “As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and as we transition to a clean energy economy, it is time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren,” said Biden.
“By balancing the numerous uses and benefits of the U.S. ocean, I am clear that the relatively minimal potential of fossil fuels in the areas I am withdrawing does not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would result from new leasing and drilling,” he added.
Why it could be difficult to revoke
This is a setback for Donald Trump and his oil policy.
The ban has no end date and could be legally complex to revoke.
The measure is based on the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which gives presidents broad authority to withdraw federal waters from future oil and gas leasing and exploration.
However, it does not explicitly grant presidents the authority to revoke the action and put federal waters back into exploitation. This means that President-elect Trump would have to get Congress to amend it before being able to revoke Biden’s measure.
“Protected Communities”
“The new protections by President Biden add to this bipartisan history, including previous withdrawals by President Trump in the southeastern United States in 2020,” said Oceana campaign director, Joseph Gordon, in a statement.
“Our precious coastal communities are now protected for future generations,” he added.
Industry Response
The oil industry also criticized Biden’s action. “President Biden’s decision is significant and catastrophic,” stated Ron Neal, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America Offshore Committee.
“It represents a major blow to the oil and natural gas industry,” he emphasized.
Neal said the ban would “severely” limit the industry’s potential for future explorations in new areas, harming the sector’s long-term survival capacity.
However, energy sector experts assure that the measure will not significantly impact the country’s oil production, which reached record levels during Biden’s term.
Tom Kloza, global head of oil price analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, told CNN on Friday that it “is not particularly significant for American exploration and production in the future.”
He indicated that there are already many oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and added that offshore projects usually take “between 6 and 8 years” to start operating.
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