Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters

President Biden is taking executive action to protect more than 625 million acres of the American ocean from offshore drilling, the White House announced early Monday.

The move to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters includes the entire East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the North Bering Sea in Alaska where future oil and natural gas leasing could not take place.

“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,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

“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,” he said.

The move is a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling. 

A Trump spokesperson called the move by the Biden administration “disgraceful.” 

“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,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. “Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”

Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032. That was after he initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.

Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Mr. Biden’s focus on climate change.

Environmental advocates hailed Mr. Biden’s action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.

“This is an epic ocean victory!” said Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana.

Gordon thanked Mr. Biden “for listening to the voices from coastal communities” that oppose drilling and “contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.”

Mr. Biden’s actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal water from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that U.S. coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment, abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.

In balancing multiple uses of America’s oceans, Mr. Biden said it was clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show “relatively minimal potential” that does not justify possible environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.

Mr. Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.

A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.

Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.

Mr. Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

contributed to this report.