Monday, January 6, 2025

OSC Lands Act has a new memorandum to protect the coastlines of the US from future oil and gas development.

Happy Monday!  

Welcome back to another week of ESC News Blog, and a New Year for those lucky to be off last week! 

We have been trying to keep up with the US Department of Interior and the rumor appears to be true in regard to the Outer Continental Shelf and parts of it becoming off limits for future oil and gas exploration and drilling.  

Did anyone happen to read the Oil & Gas Journal’s Daily Update Newsletter on January 6, 2025, their article titled, “White House shuts 625 million acres of federal waters to fossil fuel leasing”?  In the article, it speaks on how the Biden Administration has taken more than 625 million acres of federal waters off the table for future oil and gas exploration and leasing by administering a memorandum for Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OSC Lands Act).  The memorandum was added to the OSC Lands Act are more than an executive orders it will take an act of Congress to remove this level of protection to America’s coastlines.   The areas of protection are mostly areas of little interest to the oil and gas industry, and they include 334 million acres along the east coast coastline from Canada to the southern tip of Florida, then along the other side of Florida's coastline in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, then along the west coast coastline of the US from the Washington to California where they have withdrawn 250 million acres, and lastly, they withdrew 44 million acres along the far northwest of the Alaskan coastline.   These 628 million acres along with the other closures the administration has implemented during their tenure has now closed more than 670 million acres of the US to future oil and gas leases.  Well, this administration wanted to show it believed in slowing climate change by investing in research, its people, and limiting future oil and gas exploration, and this was their final act of love to future generations.  If you would like to read more of the Oil & Gas Journal’s article, please click the link:   White House shuts 625 million acres of federal water to fossil fuel leasing | Oil & Gas Journal.

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We hope you have a wonderful evening!

**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The Oil and Gas Journal’s article. **