Biden Blocks Offshore Drilling in Key U.S. Waters

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters.

The move comes two weeks before the end of his presidential term, potentially thwarting efforts by the incoming administration to expand offshore drilling.

Invoking the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Biden’s order restricts future oil and natural gas leasing along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea. The decision safeguards extensive areas but excludes regions where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, such as large portions of the Gulf of Mexico.

“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 Monday.

Congressman August Pfluger (R-TX) criticized the move, describing it as a “last-ditch effort to shut down the American energy industry.”

Pfluger argued the ban would eliminate energy jobs, increase reliance on foreign oil, and threaten coastal revitalization projects.

“Republicans in Congress will work with President Trump on Day 1 to unleash American energy production,” Pfluger stated.