Trump Admin Invites Oil Industry Input on New California Offshore Leases

No new Pacific drilling rights have been auctioned since 1984, following the 1969 Santa Barbara spill that released more than 4 million gallons of oil.
Trump Admin Invites Oil Industry Input on New California Offshore Leases
An oil rig sits in the background of surfers in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sept. 12, 2024.
|Updated:
0:00

The Trump administration on Jan. 26 took its first step toward offering new offshore oil and gas drilling leases in California, inviting industry nominations for potential sales in federal waters off the state’s central and southern coasts.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a call for information, seeking input on potential lease areas for auctions as early as 2027.
Kimberly Hayek
Kimberly Hayek
Author
Kimberly Hayek is a reporter for The Epoch Times. She covers California news and has worked as an editor and on scene at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2018 migrant caravan crisis.