Will oil drilling in some US waters be banned permanently?

US President Joe Biden is expected to permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Khoan dầu tại một số vùng biển sẽ bị cấm vĩnh viễn?

Offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, in this photo taken on April 21, 2021 - source: CNN

President Joe Biden’s expected executive order would invoke the Offshore Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, a law that gives the president broad authority to withdraw federal waters from future oil and gas leases and development, a source said.

The act does not explicitly grant the president the authority to rescind the action and return federal waters to fishing, meaning President-elect Donald Trump would have to ask Congress to change the act before he can reverse President Joe Biden's decision.

As President Joe Biden’s term nears its end, environmental and climate groups have lobbied him to permanently de-escalate areas off the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as other areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to protect them from future drilling. The move is intended to protect the environment from future oil spills and reduce fossil fuel pollution in the atmosphere.

We expect this plan to protect a very large area of some of the ocean, Joseph Gordon, climate and energy campaign director at Oceana, told CNN, adding that Joe Biden's plan would expand and make these protections permanent.

Despite his pro-oil stance, President-elect Donald Trump has also implemented offshore drilling bans during his presidency. After proposing to expand offshore drilling early in his first term, in 2020, Donald Trump extended the offshore drilling ban in the Eastern Gulf and extended it to the coasts of three states: Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

“Every president this century has recognized that some areas of the ocean are too risky or too sensitive to drill,” said Drew Caputo, vice president of land, wildlife and ocean litigation at Earthjustice.

The White House declined to comment. President Joe Biden's decision was first reported by Bloomberg.

Energy analysts told CNN the move would have little impact on US oil production, which has set new records under President Joe Biden.

This has no significant impact on future U.S. oil exploration and production, said Tom Kloza, director of global energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service, noting that there are plenty of existing offshore rigs pumping oil in the Gulf of Mexico and that offshore projects typically take six to eight years to come online.

“I don’t see this having any real impact on US oil supplies, exports or imports,” said Tom Kloza.

However, the American Petroleum Institute (API) criticized President Joe Biden's decision, calling it a "misguided approach."

“We look forward to working with the new administration to bring the benefits of offshore oil and gas production to the United States through job creation, investment, and domestic energy security,” said API senior vice president of policy, economics, and institutions Dustin Meyer.

In an upcoming announcement, the Biden administration is also expected to declare two new national conservation areas in California next week, according to a source familiar with the plan.

Joe Biden would establish the Chuckwalla National Preserve in Southern California near Joshua Tree National Park and the Chaditsla National Preserve in Northern California, the sources said. Indigenous tribes have been lobbying the administration to protect the land from energy development.

To date, Mr. Joe Biden has protected or expanded 10 national reserves during his presidency./.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/khoan-dau-tai-mot-so-vung-bien-tai-my-se-bi-cam-vinh-vien-368052.html