Some view the Trump administration's push to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to most federal waters as a failure. But with plans for oil and gas lease sales for the Atlantic and Arctic on an indefinite hold, amid court battles and leadership changes, the industry continues to push for access to the Norphlet play in the eastern Gulf.
Much of the deepwater play is under a federal moratorium until 2022 and leases there will be highly sought after when that expires. But drilling in the eastern Gulf is fiercely opposed by Florida lawmakers and a compromise has proved difficult.
On today's Capitol Crude, Erik Milito, the American Petroleum Institute's vice president of upstream and industry operations, and Christopher Guith, acting president of the US Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute, talk about future output hopes for the Norphlet, the challenges of opening the eastern Gulf to drilling and the consequences of not expanding lease sales.
Gary Gentile, chief editor of S&P Global Platts Oilgram News, joins as a special guest co-host.