The administration of US President Joe Biden is preparing to announce a new ban on oil and gas drilling around most of the country's coastline. This is reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
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According to the data, the restrictions will apply to more than 2.5 million square kilometers of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, including the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico.
This decision is part of a plan to protect coastal ecosystems from fossil resource development and minimize the risk of oil spills. At the same time, oil production in the central and western parts of the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 14% of the country's total production, will remain unchanged.
The new policy, which will be announced in the near future, could have long-term consequences and complicate the plans to increase energy production put forward by the previous administration. Environmentalists have supported the initiative, calling it an important step in protecting the oceans, while oil and gas industry supporters have expressed concerns about the decline in US energy power amid growing demand for electricity.