Trump Says He'll Immediately Undo Biden’s Ban on Offshore Drilling

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference in Washington on Nov. 13, 2024. Allison Robbert/Pool Photo via AP, File

President-elect Donald Trump has said that he would immediately reverse President Joe Biden’s new ban on future offshore oil and gas developments in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The outgoing president announced an executive action on Jan. 6 prohibiting new oil and gas leasing across 625 million acres of U.S. oceans, including the entire East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and portions of the northern Bering Sea in Alaska, with no expiration.

“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement.

“It is not worth the risks.”

After Biden’s executive action, Trump said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that he has the right to reverse it once he takes office.

“It’s ridiculous. I'll unban it immediately,” Trump said.

“We can’t let that happen to our country. It’s really our greatest economic asset.”

The president-elect later suggested that the Biden administration could be trying to make the transition difficult.

“Well, they’re making it really difficult. They’re throwing everything they can in the way,” Trump said.

He reiterated his position on Truth Social.

“Fear not, these ‘orders’ will all be terminated shortly, and we will become a nation of common sense and strength,” Trump wrote.

On the campaign trail, he promised to boost energy production through an all-encompassing strategy to reduce energy expenses for families and businesses. One of his proposals is streamlining the permitting process for drilling on federal lands and reducing regulatory burdens on the energy sector.

Supporters of the White House measure consider it “an epic ocean victory.”

“Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations,” Joseph Gordon, head of the environmental group Oceana, said in a statement.

Can Trump Reverse It?

It is unclear whether the incoming administration could reverse the measure.

Biden cited Section 12(a) of the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which prevents energy companies from leasing federal waters and allows presidents to implement oil and gas development bans.

In 2019, the Trump administration attempted to reverse President Barack Obama’s withdrawals from the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. However, a federal judge determined that the OCSLA does not give presidents the authority to reverse bans introduced by previous administrations.

Trump also took advantage of the OCSLA in 2020 by prohibiting sales of offshore drilling rights in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico through 2032.

President Joe Biden walks to board Air Force One at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Christiansted, St. Croix, on the U.S. Virgin Islands, on Dec. 31, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

In light of the precedent, Trump might need to seek congressional approval to reverse the ban.

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) accused Biden of being at war with the oil and gas sector since his first day in the White House.

“His latest ban will not stand,” Higgins said on social media platform X. “I’ll be introducing legislation ensuring President Trump can swiftly overturn this action and unleash American energy dominance.”

The American Petroleum Institute, a trade association representing the oil and gas industry, will support attempts to reverse Biden’s policies.

“We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing,” Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement.

Whether this will immediately affect the energy sector remains to be seen.

The Energy Information Administration estimates that about 15 percent of domestic crude production comes from federal offshore areas, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. This proportion has gradually decreased over the past 10 years because of the surge in onshore drilling activities.

The United States is currently producing record quantities of crude oil, totaling approximately 13.4 million barrels per day.

However, HFI Research analysts say the United States is on track for its weakest growth since the start of the shale revolution 10 years ago.

“US oil production plateau is the story no one is talking about,” the firm said in a Jan. 2 post on Substack. “2018 was an exceptional year where US oil production grew by ~2 million b/d exit-to-exit, while 2024 is on track to be the weakest year to date.”

Crude oil prices have had a whirlwind few years, rising to as much as $113 per barrel in May 2022. They have since cooled off, sinking below $74.

The Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook predicts that prices will average about $74 over the coming year.