Offshore Oil Leasing News

A federal appeals court on Tuesday confirmed bans on offshore oil leasing in most federal Arctic waters and in the Atlantic after the Trump Administration tried to open them up to development.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said President Joe Biden's reinstatement of Obama-era protections makes moot the previous administration's attempts to allow oil development there.The Trump administration pressed for oil-and-gas development throughout the United States as the nation's crude production surged to a record 13 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2019.

According to a May 22 report from the California Chronicle, Santa Barbara City Councilmember Das Williams called for an immediate moratorium on all offshore oil leasing, as well as the reopening of a Minerals and Management Service (MMS) field office in Santa Barbara County. (Source: California Chronicle)