Biden withdraws large Atlantic, Pacific, and eastern Gulf offshore areas from future oil and gas leasing

President Joe Biden used a January 6, 2025 memorandum to withdraw large areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf from future oil and natural gas leasing. The withdrawal covered the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Straits of Florida, certain eastern Gulf of Mexico areas, and the Washington/Oregon, Northern California, Central California, and Southern California planning areas. The memorandum relied on section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, set no expiration date, and did not affect existing leases. The action mattered because it put hundreds of millions of offshore acres beyond new oil and gas leasing while leaving central and western Gulf areas, where much existing offshore production occurs, outside this specific withdrawal.