Washington – The Bush administration plans to open a large area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas leasing despite strong opposition from Florida officials.
The Interior Department’s leasing proposal released Wednesday would encompass more than two-thirds of an area known as Lease 181, while continuing to ban oil and gas development in waters within 100 miles of the Florida coast.
President Bush in 2001 assured Florida officials, including his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, that the Lease 181 area would be protected at least through this year. The new proposal, expected to become final early next year, would cover the 2007-12 leasing period.
Separately, the department expressed continued interest in opening waters off Virginia to gas drilling. Congress would have to come up with an arrangement in which the state would seek permission to develop the offshore area. It is now part of a broad freeze on coastal drilling.
The plan included possible drilling off Virginia so that action on lease sales could commence quickly if Congress and the state act, Interior officials said.
Florida officials have long feared that any encroachment into the eastern Gulf of Mexico by oil and gas companies may lead to eventual drilling closer to the state’s shores, which, they argue, might harm the environment and threaten the state’s multibillion-dollar tourist industry.
The plan announced Wednesday would permit drilling in the “bulge” area of the Lease 181 area, all of which lies at least 100 miles from Florida’s coast.
