Biden’s US offshore oil & gas drilling ban throws a spanner in the works but ‘drill, baby, drill’ still on Trump’s energy agenda

While the United States (U.S.) is one of the world’s major oil and gas producing and exporting players, the Biden administration has pledged to turbocharge clean energy growth, with several steps taken over the past four years to make this happen. President Joe Biden’s legacy has now added an offshore drilling ban, spanning over 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean, to the mix. The controversial move, which is welcomed by environmental activists as a blessing, has sparked the ire of Big Oil, companies and organizations connected with the fossil fuels industry, and the supporters of plans to up the hydrocarbon exploration and production ante, which were outlined by the President-elect, Donald Trump.

President Biden, who is on the brink of leaving the White House as his term at the nation’s helm is coming to an end, has disclosed plans to protect the entire U.S. East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from future oil and natural gas leasing.

This move enables Biden to conserve more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters by using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to issue two presidential memoranda, covering all U.S. Outer Continental Shelf areas off the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from future oil and natural gas leasing.

The White House, which claims this is more acreage conserved than any other president has done in U.S. history, explains that President Biden determined the environmental and economic risks and harms from drilling activities in these areas outweigh their “limited” fossil fuel resource potential. The withdrawals are said to protect coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and locals from oil spills and other offshore drilling repercussions.

Biden elaborated on his decision by saying: “I am taking action to protect the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from oil and natural gas drilling and the harm it can cause. 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. 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.

“From California to Florida, Republican and Democratic Governors, Members of Congress, and coastal communities alike have worked and called for greater protection of our ocean and coastlines from harms that offshore oil and natural gas drilling can bring. In Alaska, dozens of Tribes have fought to protect the Northern Bering Sea, a vital ocean ecosystem that supports their traditional ways of life. Vice President Harris and I have listened. In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s ocean, it is clear to me that the relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.”

The White House underlined that close to 400 municipalities and over 2,300 elected local, state, Tribal, and federal officials across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts have formally opposed the expansion of offshore drilling in these areas given its severe environmental, health, and economic threats, with nearly every governor along the East and West Coasts, Republicans and Democrats alike, expressing concerns about expanded oil and gas drilling off their coastlines.

The new Northern Bering Sea protections in Alaska are perceived to be consistent with a long-standing request from more than 70 coastal Tribes based on the need to help sustain a vital and threatened ocean area, and the natural resources it contains.

Biden emphasized: “The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a man-made catastrophe that took the lives of eleven people and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is a solemn reminder of the costs and risks of offshore drilling to the health and resilience of our coasts and fisheries and underscores the importance of the legal protections I am putting in place today.

“It is also one of the reasons why on my watch we have strengthened offshore safety standards for workers and communities on the front lines of existing operations nationwide, and rapidly accelerated the development of safer and cleaner energy sources, including the approval of eleven offshore wind projects. From Day One, I have delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in our country’s history.”

The White House is adamant that President Biden’s offshore drilling ban ensures the regions can remain healthy and safe from the risk of oil spills resulting from “development that would do little, if anything, to meet the nation’s energy needs.” President Biden first used his authority in January 2021 to restore protections for part of the Northern Bering Sea, and again in March 2023 to withdraw 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea from future oil and gas leasing, which completed protections for the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean.

The withdrawals, which have no expiration date and prohibit all future oil and natural gas leasing in the withdrawn areas, have the potential to make things complicated for Trump, bringing legal and political woes to the President-elect’s plan to ramp up oil and gas exploration and production. With the offshore drilling ban, President Biden is putting out of drilling range approximately 334 million acres of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf from Canada to the southern tip of Florida and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The White House outlined: “Today’s actions build upon the Biden-Harris Administration’s ambitious climate agenda and unprecedented commitment to protect America’s natural wonders now and for future generations. The withdrawals advance two important Biden-Harris Administration priorities: honoring and protecting areas of significance to Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples as well as States and other stakeholders; and helping to ensure our oceans and coasts are resilient to the threats of climate change and nature loss. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s climate and conservation record includes creating three new national marine sanctuaries and a new national estuarine research reserve, including the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Central California; advancing designations for four additional sanctuaries; safeguarding Bristol Bay salmon fisheries; approving more than 19 gigawatts of offshore wind projects, enough to power more than 6 million homes; investing $2.6 billion in coastal communities; and releasing the first-ever U. S. Ocean Climate Action Plan.”

While there are no active oil and natural gas leases in federal waters off the eastern Atlantic coast, the southern section of this withdrawal matches a previous Congressional withdrawal enacted by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, and a subsequent time-limited withdrawal issued by the previous administration that would have expired in 2032 without the latest set of protections, which help safeguard the multi-billion-dollar fishing and tourism economies in these states.  

Moreover, the ban puts off limits nearly 250 million acres of federal waters off the West Coast of the mainland U.S. which are prime habitats for seals, sea lions, whales, fish, and countless seabirds. California has had a moratorium on issuing new leases in its state waters since 1969, and the last federal lease sale in the area being withdrawn was offshore of Southern California in 1984, as the governors of these states have called for full protection of their coasts for decades.

After a lawsuit launched in 2023, alleging that five of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world — Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP — and the American Petroleum Institute (API) engaged in a decades-long campaign of deception regarding the reality of climate change, Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, filed an amended complaint in June 2024, adding the disgorgement remedy provided by AB 1366, which was enacted last year and would require the defendants to give up the profits gained through their so-called illegal conduct.

The amended complaint also entails additional examples of recent “false advertising and greenwashing conduct” by the oil companies. Meanwhile, Biden’s withdrawal will protect 44 million acres of the Northern Bering Sea in far northwest Alaska, home to fish, sea birds, and other wildlife, where there are no existing oil and gas leases, as the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area was established in 2016.

The White House describes the area as being one where oil and gas development would pose severe dangers to coastal communities, and where the health of these waters is critically important to food security and to the culture of more than 70 coastal Tribes. The Alaskan Congressional delegation also opposed previous proposals to allow oil and gas leasing and drilling in the area.

Biden’s offshore drilling ban is being hailed as a victory by climate campaigners and environmental activities, which wagged legal battles for years to stop offshore drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico with varied success rates, as their efforts were not welcomed by many because of the growing demand for energy along with the security of supply concerns, which lead to an increase in hydrocarbon exploration not just in the U.S. but also on the global scene.

“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. 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,” highlighted Biden.

Those who do not support Biden’s offshore drilling ban have been very vocal in their opposition. This list includes the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), a national upstream trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States, which expressed its dissatisfaction with the Biden Administration’s plan to remove millions of acres of U.S. oceans from potential oil and gas drilling, barring the sale of new oil and gas leases along the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of the northern Bering Sea.

Ron Neal, IPAA’s Offshore Committee Chairman, President of Houston Energy L.P., and CEO of HEQ Deepwater, stated: “President Biden’s decision to ban new offshore oil and natural gas development across approximately 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters is significant and catastrophic. While it may not directly affect the currently active protraction 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.

“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.” 

While claiming that Biden’s move shows he wants high gas prices to be his legacy, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump, described the ban as “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.”

API has also opposed further restrictions to offshore oil and natural gas development, claiming that America’s offshore resources are not only significant for its energy security but also generate among the lowest carbon-intensive barrels produced anywhere in the world.

Mike Sommers, API’s President and CEO, commented: “American voters sent a clear message in support of domestic energy development, and yet the current administration is using its final days in office to cement a record of doing everything possible to restrict it.

“Congress and the incoming administration should fully leverage the nation’s vast offshore resources as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue and stability around the world. We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing.”

The American Petroleum Institute has used the data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to illustrate its points, as the U.S. offshore production accounts for 14% of total crude oil production, or nearly 2 million barrels of oil per day. API is convinced that robust offshore oil and natural gas development could generate over $8 billion in additional government revenue by 2040.

“Reversing this politically-motivated decision should be a top priority for Congress. API has also urged the incoming administration to draft a new 5-year offshore leasing program, changing course from the weakest offshore program in history under the Biden administration,” concluded the American Petroleum Institute.

The program covers only three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years, said to represent the lowest number of oil and gas lease sales for a five-year program in U.S. history, with no lease sales in Atlantic, Pacific, and Alaskan waters. Despite industry protests, the Biden administration believes this number to be sufficient for the United States to meet its energy needs and keep up its transition to clean energy.