April 10 (UPI) — The Department of Interior on Thursday released an analysis of fossil fuel deposits showing an additional 1.30 billion barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental shelf.
According to the Interior Department, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management analysis shows “an estimated 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent” under the water.
“This new data confirms what we’ve known all along — America is sitting on a treasure trove of energy, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re unlocking it,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgham said in a statement.
Burgham touted ramping up oil and gas drilling in coastal areas.
In 2023, 32 oil companies bid $309 million for Gulf drilling rights.
Chevron, alone, accounted for $104 million of that.
While much of the developed world turns toward green energy, the Trump administration is instead doubling down on fossil fuels.
The Interior Department said Burgham has directed BOEM to move forward with offshore oil and gas drilling.
It’s a marked contrast to the Biden administration approach of prohibiting new oil drilling along the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as in the Gulf.
Biden said in January that drilling off these coasts “could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet the nation’s energy needs.”
He added that the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the U.S. and what’s need is to transition to a clean energy economy.
In 2020 a study found the BP’s Deepwater Horizon 2010 Gulf oil spill was bigger than previously thought. The biggest oil spill in U.S. history spewed 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf.
It created an oil slick thought to cover 57,000 square miles at the time, but Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science found it was much larger and was toxic to marine life.
As the Trump administration pushes more fossil fuel production from the Gulf, the Interior Department Thursday also said it’s tossing a requirement to prepare environmental impact statements for approximately 3,244 oil and gas leases covering 3.5 million acres in seven western states.
