Obama administration opens up southern Atlantic coast to offshore drilling – but restricts it in Alaska

The Obama administration announced plans Tuesday to allow oil drilling in Atlantic waters off several Southeastern states, including Virginia, while moving to restrict access to oil companies along the Pacific and in environmentally sensitive areas off Alaska’s northern coast.

The proposals could potentially lead to the appearance of offshore drilling rigs from the southern Chesapeake to Georgia, along the coasts of states with traditionally strong political support for oil development. But the plan would block access to some oil-rich areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska’s North Slope...