Oceana Condemns New Legislation That Mandates Expanded Offshore Drilling - Oceana USA

Oceana Condemns New Legislation That Mandates Expanded Offshore Drilling

Press Release Date: July 25, 2024

Location: Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Cory Gunkel | email: cgunkel@oceana.org | tel: Cory Gunkel

Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced legislation this week that would drastically increase offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters. Called the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the bill would force the Department of the Interior to require offshore drilling lease sales every year from 2025 through 2029. 

In response to the legislation, Oceana Campaign Director Joseph Gordon released the following statement:  

“Mandating more offshore drilling sets us on a backward and destructive path that undermines our clean energy future. Offshore drilling harms our climate, pollutes our air and our environment, and exacerbates environmental injustice plaguing communities along the coast. As long as the United States continues to allow offshore drilling, it is not a matter of if, but when, devastating oil spills will happen. We urge Congress to reject this bill and pass legislation that advances a clean energy future, protects coastal communities, and makes dirty fossil fuels a relic of the past.”   

For more information about Oceana’s campaign to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling in the United States, please click here

Background   

A new poll released by Oceana in July 2024 revealed that two-thirds of American voters (64%) support their elected officials protecting U.S. coastlines from new offshore drilling, with similar support among registered voters in coastal states (66%). The poll also found this support grew among youth voters 18 to 29 years of age (70%).  

A 2021 analysis by Oceana found that protecting all unleased federal waters from offshore drilling in the United States could prevent over 19 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is the equivalent of taking every car in the nation off the road for 15 years. Ending new leasing could also prevent more than $720 billion in damage to people, property, and the environment. The oil industry currently holds more than 2,000 leases, according to a 2023 Oceana report, with 75% of that ocean acreage currently unused.  

For more information about Oceana’s campaign to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling in the United States, please click here.