The Trump administration on Thursday announced new oil drilling off the coast of California and Florida for the first time in decades, advancing projects that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production.
The oil industry has been looking to move into new offshore areas, including off the coast of Southern California and Florida, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes parts of offshore Florida and offshore Alabama, since 1995 due to concerns about oil spills. California owns some offshore oil rigs, but there have been no new leases in federal waters since the mid-1980s.
Since taking office for a second time in January, Trump has systematically reversed former President Joe Biden’s focus on mitigating climate change and instead pursued what the Republican calls U.S. “energy dominance” in global markets. Trump recently said climate change “The greatest scam the world has ever seen” Created a national energy steering committee and directs it to act quickly to increase U.S. energy production, which has reached record highs, especially fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
At the same time, the Trump administration has banned renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind power and eliminated billions of dollars in grants supporting hundreds of clean energy projects across the country.
The drilling proposal has faced bipartisan resistance in Florida, with a spokesman for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis saying the Trump administration should reconsider and Republican Sen. Rick Scott saying the state’s coast “must be excluded from oil drilling.” California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump critic, called the administration’s plan “stupid.”
Tourism and beach cleaning are key parts of both states’ economies.
Plans to allow drilling off California, Alaska and Florida coasts
The government plan proposes six offshore lease sales off the California coast between 2027 and 2030.
It also calls for new drilling off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico at least 100 miles offshore. The drilling leases will be sold in the newly designated South Central Gulf region, which borders thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling rigs in the middle of the Gulf.
The new designation separates the target area from the East Gulf, where drilling was prohibited under a moratorium Trump signed during his first term. Industry representatives said the change was intended to address the concerns of Florida officials who oppose drilling near its tourist-friendly coast.
The five-year plan will also force the sale of more than 20 leases off the Alaska coast, including a newly designated High Arctic area more than 200 miles offshore in the Arctic Ocean.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing the sale that oil from new leases would take years to reach the market.
“By moving forward with a strong, forward-looking leasing program, we will ensure that America’s offshore industry remains strong, our workers remain employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come,” Burgum said in a statement.
The American Petroleum Institute called the new plan a “historic step” to unlock more offshore resources. Industry groups point to California’s history as an oil-producing state and say the state already has the infrastructure to support more production.
Opposition from California and Florida
Trump ally Scott helped persuade officials during Trump’s first term Abandon similar offshore plans in 2018 When Scott was governor. Scott and Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody introduced legislation this month to maintain a drilling moratorium that dates back to Trump’s first term.
Newsom, who often touts the state’s status as a global climate leader, said in response to Thursday’s announcement that California will “use every tool at our disposal to protect our coastlines.”
California has been a leader in restricting offshore drilling since the infamous Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 sparked the modern environmental movement. Although no new federal leases have been offered since the mid-1980s, drilling on existing platforms continues.
Newsom expresses support for tighter offshore controls One game in 2021 near Huntington Beach and supports congressional efforts to ban new offshore drilling on the West Coast.
A Texas-based company, with support from the Trump administration, is seeking to restart production in waters off Santa Barbara damaged by the 2015 oil spill. The government applauds the plan Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp. As the kind of project Trump wants Increase U.S. energy production.
Trump signs executive order on first day of second term, turning the tables on Biden Ban future offshore oil drilling On the East Coast and West Coast. A federal court later rejected Biden’s order to withdraw 625 million acres of federal waters from oil development.
Environmental and economic concerns about oil spill
Lawmakers in California and Florida warn that new offshore drilling will harm coastal economies, jeopardize national security, disrupt coastal ecosystems and put the health and safety of millions of people at risk.
“This isn’t just a little bit of offshore drilling. It’s the entire California coast, every inch of Alaska, even the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” said California Rep. Jared Huffman. “Basically, Big Oil has been salivating over drilling for decades.”
Florida Rep. Jimmy Patronis led a group of Republican lawmakers in a letter Thursday asking Trump to withdraw leases for some parcels off the Florida coast. They warned that oil exploration could disrupt training areas at a nearby military air base. Allowing the packages to move forward “would have a chilling effect on the military’s ability to test new munitions, including hypersonic and counter-drone weapons,” they wrote.
The state is also still recovering from environmental and economic damage. 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spillRep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said it pollutes the Gulf Coast.
The Santa Barbara Conservation Center, a group formed in response to the 1969 California oil spill, said the plan puts at risk the Santa Barbara Channel near Southern California, an important feeding ground for endangered blue, humpback and fin whales.
“It’s impossible to extract oil without causing devastating impacts,” said Maggie Hall, the advocacy group’s deputy chief counsel. “This risk is unacceptable.”
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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
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Associated Press writers Julie Watson (San Diego), Sophie Austin (Sacramento, Calif.) and Kate Payne (Tallahassee, Fla.) contributed.