The White House and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced restrictions on drilling for gas and oil in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. A joint statement said their move aims to launch “actions ensuring a strong, sustainable and viable Arctic economy and ecosystem.”
United States President Barack Obama imposed a ban on oil and gas drilling in the country’s territorial waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, using provisions in the Outer Continental Shelf Act dating back to the 1950s, which enables presidents to curb mineral leasing and drilling.
The development gains significance as US President-elect Donald Trump will have to contest the ban in court if he wants to pursue his campaign promise of expanding offshore oil and gas drilling. A recent memorandum from Trump’s energy transition team said there would be an increase in production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, among other places, Reuters reported.
The American Petroleum Institute oil industry group said Trump would use a presidential memorandum to lift the ban. The organisation’s upstream director Erik Milito said, “We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy,” Reuters reported.
The ban affects 1,150 lakh acres of the nation’s territorial waters and has been welcomed by environmentalists.
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