US to open Atlantic and Arctic offshore leases in new drilling plan

[Joanna + 68]

The U.S. Interior Department will open up the largest area on record to offshore oil and gas drilling in a new five-year leasing plan, including previously protected parts of the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The expansion is likely to trigger huge political backlash, particularly on the West Coast and in Florida, where offshore drilling has generated sharp opposition from residents, environmental groups and businesses

 

[JohnAtronis + 78]

Then the first oil spill from the relaxation of the rules could hit the Florida beaches by next fall, just in time for the Mid-Term elections.

[Stephen + 67]

Opening up drilling in sensitive areas coupled with this administration's lax business oversight is a recipe for disaster.

[Meanwhile + 49]

They might reconsider. West coast states and Florida will block oil companies from drilling by taxing the hell out of them

[Joanna + 68]

Looks like that Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will launch initiative to pass legislation to block oil drilling off the East Coast through 2022 amid reports the Trump administration soon might open the door to energy exploration in the mid- and South Atlantic as early as 2019 — three years earlier than currently allowed.

[JohnAtronis + 78]

Just now, Joanna said:

Looks like that Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will launch initiative to pass legislation to block oil drilling off the East Coast through 2022 amid reports the Trump administration soon might open the door to energy exploration in the mid- and South Atlantic as early as 2019 — three years earlier than currently allowed.

https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/sites/default/files/5_year_plan_bill.pdf

[Meanwhile + 49]

I wonder which group have stronger argument

 

-Industry leaders have lobbied the Trump administration to sell drilling rights in the U.S. Atlantic as a way to complement existing oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. It is not clear how much oil and gas exists off the East Coast, because existing data stems largely from decades-old geological surveys and more than four-dozen wells drilled in the 1970s and 1980s. Oil companies also want the Trump administration to sell drilling rights in Arctic waters north of Alaska and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico -- where federal law bars new oil leasing through 2022.

-Lawmakers from Florida have fought efforts to expand offshore drilling they say would imperil the state’s tourism-tied economy and are seeking to extend that ban.

[Stephen + 67]

Energy dominance agenda? China's way ahead on that. Hint: it doesn't really include more drilling. They have pretty much established they intend to dominate the renewables.