Overview
- Multiple outlets report a draft Interior plan that would stage six lease sales off California between 2027 and 2030, with additional leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and federal waters near Alaska.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the idea as “dead on arrival” at the COP30 summit and signaled legal action, while his office publicly taunted the White House over exempting waters near Florida.
- People familiar with the plan say an announcement could come this week, though Interior and the White House have not commented publicly.
- Analysts question industry appetite for Pacific leases, citing deeper-water costs, limited resources, scarce onshore infrastructure, and California’s stringent rules, with the Gulf seen as more attractive.
- Environmental groups pledge to fight the proposal, which would confront decades of opposition and a record of no new federal Pacific leases since the 1980s following the Santa Barbara disaster.