Merged Federal Agency to Manage Massive Expansion in Proposed Offshore Oil Development

Democrats question how the Marine Minerals Administration’s trimmed staffing can ensure safety. Republicans wonder if it can keep pace with permitting demands.

File image of a PennzEnergy oil exploration drilling rig In the Gulf of America. Getty Images

The Trump administration is merging two Interior Department agencies into one office that will orchestrate its proposed plan to dramatically expand offshore oil and gas production and spearhead its Outer Continental Shelf critical minerals development initiatives.

Under a “phased transition” that began in April, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are being folded into the newly created Marine Minerals Administration.