STATEMENT: “Notoriously Bad Neighbors”: Oil and Gas Companies Poised to Expand Operations After Leaving Junkyards in the Ocean

WASHINGTON – Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan. This plan would reopen areas off the California coast that have been closed to new leasing for decades, and it would also open large new offshore areas in Alaska, including the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea. Andrew Hartsig, Ocean Conservancy’s Arctic program senior director, a seasoned lawyer and expert in oil and gas policy, released the following statement:

“Offshore drilling is dirty, dangerous and has devastating consequences for the ocean. It fuels warming waters and jeopardizes marine life and coastal economies with inevitable oil spills. 

“What’s more, oil and gas companies are notoriously bad neighbors. In addition to the threat of oil spills, offshore oil companies leave a junkyard behind wherever they go. U.S. seabeds are littered with over 18,000 miles of oil pipelines that are no longer in use. Already, there have been instances where offshore operators have declared bankruptcy and offloaded millions of dollars of clean-up costs onto American taxpayers.

“This plan would dramatically expand offshore oil and gas leasing, when instead we should be holding oil and gas companies accountable for the hundreds of oil wells they’ve still not managed to clean up — and transitioning to the responsible, affordable, renewable energy sources that will keep America competitive on the global stage.”

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ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY  

For more than 50 years, Ocean Conservancy has delivered effective, evidence-based solutions for the ocean and all who depend on it. Today, we continue to unite science, people and policy to protect our ocean from the greatest challenges it faces: climate change, plastic pollution and biodiversity loss. We are a 501(C)3 headquartered in Washington, D.C. that inspires a worldwide network of partners, advocates and supporters through our comprehensive and clear-eyed approach to ocean conservation. Together, we are securing a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky or Instagram.