Biden admin proposes plan to hold fewest offshore oil drilling leases in US history

The Biden administration proposed its highly-anticipated offshore oil and gas leasing program for the next five years on Friday morning, laying out just three Gulf of Mexico lease sales through 2029.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) published the plan in a federal filing early Friday, laying out plans to lease oil and gas drilling rights across the Gulf of Mexico in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The plan, which is slated to be finalized by the end of the year, represents the lowest number of offshore lease sales ever proposed by the federal government and blocks leasing off the Alaskan coast, and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

"The release of the U.S. offshore leasing program, mandated by law and long overdue, is an utter failure for the country," Erik Milito, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents both traditional and renewable offshore energy producers, said in a statement Friday.