President Trump announced Tuesday he is extending an existing moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and expanding it to Florida’s Atlantic coast, Georgia, and South Carolina.
His announcement, in the swing state of Florida, is intended to boost Republicans who oppose oil and gas drilling off their coasts because of the potential damage to tourism from spills.
“We can take this step while remaining the world’s No. 1 producer of oil and gas,” Trump said in a speech in Jupiter touting his environmental record.
Trump is boasting about his efforts on local environmental projects as Democrats attack him for what they call his failure to act on climate change. He did not mention climate change as the reason for restricting offshore drilling.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden opposes all new offshore oil and gas drilling, a position he reiterated Tuesday while suggesting Trump’s position is politically motivated.
Trump’s move is an about-face from his administration’s proposal in 2018 to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in virtually all federal waters. The administration later delayed finalizing the plan due to legal concerns. But it also received pushback from coastal politicians of both parties, prompting speculation that the administration tabled the plan for political reasons ahead of the election.
Congress currently has a moratorium on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico that expires in June 2022. Democrats and Florida Republicans have sought to extend the ban, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not acted on a bill passed by the House to do that.
Trump’s expansion and extension of the moratorium applies for 10 years, ending on June 30, 2032, according to a memo released by the White House.
The memo says Trump is using legal authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw the areas in question from oil and gas leasing consideration. President Barack Obama used the same tool to ban drilling temporarily in most of the Arctic Ocean and a small portion of the Atlantic Coast.
The Trump administration tried to open those areas for drilling, but federal courts have upheld Obama’s move so far. The issue is still being litigated.
Trump’s support for extending the moratorium to other coasts risks upsetting the oil and gas industry, usually an ally of the administration.
“Limiting access to our offshore energy resources only shortchanges America and dulls our national outlook,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association.
Oil and gas production in the western and central Gulf of Mexico accounts for almost all offshore production in the United States, but the industry has also been eyeing extending drilling further east to just west of Florida, which could connect to existing infrastructure. Oil groups have also supported keeping the option open of drilling off the Atlantic coast.
Dan Eberhart, the CEO of oil services company Canary and a Trump donor, said extending the existing moratorium off Florida’s waters could give the president “the bounce he’s looking for.”
“Going further might be beneficial with Floridians but would also antagonize the oil and gas industry,” Eberhart told the Washington Examiner.
Trump’s moratorium does not appear to apply to any Atlantic coast states led by Democratic governors who also oppose offshore drilling, such as Virginia, North Carolina, or New Jersey.
