Biden issues sweeping offshore oil, gas drilling ban in 625M acres of federal waters ahead of Trump transition

President Biden announced an 11th-hour executive action on Monday that bans new drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters. 

Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing. He invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, meaning President-elect Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the action. Congress might need to intervene to grant Trump authority to place federal waters back into development. 

‘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,’ Biden said in a statement. ‘It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.’ 

The move garnered quick condemnation from Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. 

‘This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,’ Leavitt wrote on X. 

Biden patted himself on the back for what he categorized as a legacy move in the fight against climate change. 

‘From Day One, I have delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in our country’s history. And over the last four years, I have conserved more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters, more than any other president in history,’ Biden said. ‘Our country’s remarkable conservation and restoration progress has been locally led by Tribes, farmers and ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts across the country. Together, our ‘America the Beautiful’ initiative put the United States on track to meet my ambitious goal to conserve at least 30 percent of our Nation’s lands and waters by 2030.’  

‘We do not need to choose between protecting the environment and growing our economy, or between keeping our ocean healthy, our coastlines resilient, and the food they produce secure and keeping energy prices low,’ the statement added. ‘Those are false choices. Protecting America’s coasts and ocean is the right thing to do, and will help communities and the economy to flourish for generations to come.’ 

Ron Neal, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America Offshore Committee, also slammed Biden’s last-ditch offshore drilling ban as ‘significant and catastrophic.’ 

‘While it may not directly affect the currently active production areas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and adjoining coastal areas, it represents a major attack on the oil and natural gas industry. This should be seen as the ‘elephant’s nose under the tent.’ The ban severely limits potential for exploration and development in new areas therefore chocking the long-term survivability of the industry,’ Neal, also the President of Houston Energy LP and CEO of HEQ Deepwater, said in a statement. ‘This move is a first step towards more extensive restrictions all across our industry in all U.S. basins including the onshore. If the activists come for anything, they are coming for everything. The policy is catastrophic for the development of new areas for oil and natural gas but, the environmentalists will eventually look to also shut down offshore wind farms for most of the same reasons. President Biden and his allies continue to push anti-energy policies that will hurt Americans.’ 

Trump, during his 2024 campaign, promised to deliver American ‘energy dominance’ on the world stage as he looked toward bolstering U.S. oil and gas drilling, as well as distance from Biden’s prioritization of climate change initiatives.