President Donald Trump has signed an executive order reversing efforts by former President Joe Biden to restrict oil and gas drilling. The new order targets Biden-era policies that limited fossil fuel developments in the Arctic and large areas of the U.S. coastline.
What did Biden’s previous drilling bans entail?
Earlier this month, Biden implemented a ban on new offshore oil and gas development along most U.S. coastlines before Trump’s inauguration. This order blocked 625 million acres, including the entire Atlantic and Pacific coasts, from oil and gas drilling.
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However, this move was largely symbolic, as the restrictions primarily targeted regions in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with limited oil and gas development prospects. Areas with active drilling operations were not affected by the ban.
Still, Trump’s new executive order aims to revoke this Biden policy, as well as a 2023 memorandum from the previous administration that prohibited oil drilling across approximately 16 million acres in the Arctic.
Could legal challenges prevent a reversal of drilling protections?
Legal experts have noted that reopening these areas for drilling could face challenges. During Trump’s first term, he attempted to reverse a similar drilling ban imposed by former President Barack Obama. That effort was blocked by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, who ruled the action unlawful.
The court determined that while the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act grants presidents the authority to restrict drilling in certain areas, it does not explicitly allow them to revoke existing protections. The Trump administration argued that language in the legislation, allowing presidents to “from time to time” withdraw unleased lands, implied authority to revise previous withdrawal decisions. Judge Gleason disagreed, ruling that only Congress has the power to overturn such protections.
What comes next?
Before the case could proceed through the appeals process, Biden took office and reversed Trump’s order, rendering further litigation moot, though Trump’s reelection has now renewed the legal debate over whether these areas can be reopened for oil and gas development.
