Trump admin quietly attempts to open the entire Calif. coast to oil drilling |
The ongoing effort from President Donald Trump’s administration to sell off public lands for private exploitation has now reached the ends of the continent, as it attempting to open up more than a billion coastal acres for drilling.
Activists, lawmakers, environmentalists and other opponents of the massive plan feel that the proposal is being sped through under the cover of an unrelenting news cycle, putting in jeopardy shorelines in California, Alaska and the states along the Gulf of Mexico. All of coastal California would be affected.
In late November, the Department of the Interior released a draft of its offshore oil drilling program for review. The directive would roll back the previous administration’s protection for the shoreline and “replace it with a new, expansive” program by October 2026.
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“The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement on Nov. 20. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.”
A view of Shell’s Vito oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
In about 8,000 feet of water, Shell’s Perdido, an offshore drilling and production platform, is the world’s deepest offshore rig. Shown in 2012, it is located in the Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles southwest of Houston.
The Department of the Interior’s plan “includes as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of 27 existing Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres,” the draft states. “That includes 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Gulf of America, and six along the Pacific coast. The proposal also........