Trump Said to Ready Order to Expand Oil Drilling

President Donald Trump is preparing to issue an executive order with the goal of giving oil companies more opportunities to drill offshore, reversing Obama-era policies that restricted the activity. 

The offshore drilling directive is set to be issued soon, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told an industry conference in Washington on Thursday, according to three attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a session closed to the press.

Trump has promised to expand domestic energy development and his administration has already signaled its interest in opening up coastal waters where President Barack Obama blocked new oil and gas development. Energy companies are lobbying the Interior Department to schedule sales of new offshore oil and natural gas rights in U.S. Atlantic and Arctic waters, amending a five-year Obama administration leasing plan that left out auctions there. 

Administration officials also have been considering how to revoke Obama’s decision to withdraw almost all U.S. Arctic waters and some Atlantic Ocean acreage from future leasing. Environmentalists say it would be unprecedented for any president to rescind such a designation, and the reversal would almost certainly be challenged in court.

Lease Sales

Although Trump can set those policy changes in motion with an executive order, the real work falls to bureaucrats in the Interior Department and could span years. Wedging new Arctic and Atlantic lease sales into the government’s five-year plan would require environmental analysis and public comment periods -- perhaps consuming a year for seas north of Alaska and even longer for parcels along the U.S. East Coast.

The move could benefit energy companies which are now focusing mostly on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, including Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Statoil.

Zinke did not provide specific details on the executive order during his Thursday presentation to the National Ocean Industries Association. An Interior Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.