Trump Administration Proposes Opening 80 Million More Acres of the Gulf to Oil and Gas Drilling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration has proposed offering more than 80 million acres of the Gulf in its fourth oil and gas lease sale. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) proposal opens a 60-day comment period for state and local governments ahead of bid opening in March 2027.

Following is a reaction from Julia Forgie, senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“Sale after sale, this administration keeps putting more of the Gulf on the auction block. Pushing for more offshore drilling while exempting certain oil and gas activities from the Endangered Species Act places wildlife like sea turtles and Rice’s whales at risk, not to mention coastal communities who bear the real burden of a potential oil spill. Gulf communities should not be treated as a permanent sacrifice zone for oil company profits.”

Established in 1970, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Our team of more than 800 lawyers, policy experts, scientists, economists, and communications specialists work across the United States and around the world, from offices in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Monica, as well as a representative office in Beijing and affiliate offices in New Delhi (through NRDC’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, NRDC India Private Limited) and London (through its UK-based partner NRDC International).