Trump revives offshore drilling off California and Florida, reigniting coast vs crude battle

The Trump administration has greenlit new offshore oil drilling off the coasts of California and Florida for the first time in decades, reopening a long-fought front between fossil fuel expansion and coastal protection.

The White House confirmed the plan on Thursday, describing it as part of a push for US “energy dominance” and long-term production growth. Industry groups hailed it as a breakthrough. Environmentalists and state leaders called it reckless.

What’s actually being proposed is wide-reaching. The plan includes six offshore lease sales through 2030 along the California coast and new drilling zones off Florida, at least 160km from shore, near the already heavily industrialised Gulf of Mexico. It also outlines more than 20 lease sales off Alaska, including in a newly designated “High Arctic” zone, over 320km offshore.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the move as forward-looking.

“By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come,” he said.

The American Petroleum Institute welcomed the decision as a “historic step” and argued that California already has the infrastructure to support increased production.

But the politics are anything but smooth.

California and Florida, two states with economies deeply tied to tourism and clean coastlines, are pushing back hard. Florida senators Ashley Moody and Rick Scott have revived legislation to preserve a drilling moratorium, with Scott saying:

“As Floridians, we know how vital our beautiful beaches and coastal waters are to our state’s economy, environment and way of life.”

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office described the proposal as a direct threat to local communities, warning that “expensive and riskier offshore drilling would put our communities at risk and undermine the economic stability of our coastal economies”. Newsom labelled the plan “dead on arrival” and accused Trump of timing the announcement to coincide with the opening of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. “He intentionally aligned that to the opening of COP,” Newsom said.

Lawmakers Alex Padilla and Jared Huffman went further, calling the proposal an attempt to “destroy one of the most valuable, most protected coastlines in the world and hand it over to the fossil fuel industry”.

The history here is sensitive. California sharply restricted offshore drilling after the 1969 Santa Barbara disaster, a spill that helped trigger the modern environmental movement. While existing platforms remain active, no new federal leases have been offered since the mid-1980s. Florida, meanwhile, has largely stayed off-limits since 1995 because of spill risks.

Yet Trump is doubling down. Since returning to office, he has rolled back climate-focused policies and accelerated fossil fuel production, openly dismissing climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”. Offshore wind projects have been stalled, and billions in clean energy grants have been frozen or cancelled.

The administration has also backed Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp in its attempt to restart drilling off Santa Barbara, signalling clearly where its priorities lie.