Zinke Announces Reckless Plan to Expand Offshore Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

New Orleans, LA -- Today, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to put up 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico up for oil and gas leasing. The largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in Interior’s history, the sale would include all available, unleased areas of the Gulf.

With oil prices under $50 per barrel, oil companies have shown limited interest in investing in new offshore projects. Interior’s last lease sale, in August, fell short of the amount generated in the previous Gulf lease sale last March.

The announcement comes in the wake of an oil spill that spilled an estimated 16,000 barrels into the Gulf, making it the largest Gulf oil spill since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

In response, Athan Manuel, Director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, issued the following statement in response:

“For far too long, the Gulf has been treated as a sacrifice zone by polluters. They’ve drilled in their waters, spilled recklessly, and burned fossil fuels and chemicals in their communities. Now, in the wake of the biggest offshore oil spill disaster since Deepwater Horizon, Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are pulling out all the stops to expose even more of the Gulf to the threats of drilling.

“At a time when demand for offshore oil is down, this administration’s attempts to sell off our public waters couldn’t be more irresponsible. Gulf communities should not be forced to pay the price for Ryan Zinke’s reckless attempts to give handouts to corporate polluters.”