U.S. President Donald Trump has taken the first formal step toward reopening offshore oil and gas leasing off California, after the federal government launched a process that could lead to the first new offshore lease sales in the state in decades.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Monday it has issued two Calls for Information and Nominations covering offshore areas in Southern and Central California. The move initiates the early stages of offshore leasing under Trump’s proposed 11th National Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas program.
Publication of the Calls in the Federal Register opens a public comment process, inviting feedback on environmental conditions, socioeconomic impacts, and industry interest. BOEM said the action does not represent a final decision to hold lease sales, but it marks the first concrete step toward reopening California waters that have largely remained closed to new offshore drilling since the late 1980s.
California and other West Coast officials quickly said they would oppose the move. Governors and state regulators warned that any effort to advance offshore drilling would face legal challenges, citing risks to coastal economies, marine ecosystems, and public safety. Although offshore leasing is handled at the federal level, California controls coastal permits, onshore facilities, and pipelines needed to move oil ashore, giving the state several ways to block projects.
California’s offshore oil sector has been in long-term decline. Offshore production peaked decades ago and now represents only a small share of state output. Most existing platforms operate under permits issued before the 1990s, and no new offshore platforms have been approved in federal waters off California for decades. Several installations have been shut or partially decommissioned as fields depleted and regulatory barriers increased.
The resistance facing Trump’s move was illustrated by a previous dispute involving a Texas-based producer seeking to restart idle offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel. In that case, federal regulators supported efforts to resume production, but California blocked the project by denying coastal permits and refusing approval for pipeline repairs needed to transport oil onshore. The dispute dragged through courts and regulatory agencies and ultimately prevented the restart despite federal backing.
The offshore push comes as California’s broader oil system tightens. In-state crude production has continued to fall, refinery closures have reduced processing capacity, and the state has grown more dependent on imported oil. Lawmakers have recently passed measures aimed at preventing sudden refinery shutdowns and stabilizing fuel supply, even as opposition to offshore drilling remains firm.
Trump’s move sets up another prolonged federal-state confrontation over offshore energy development, with the leasing process expected to face legal and regulatory challenges long before any drilling activity could begin.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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