Federal court rules Biden overstepped with offshore leasing ban

Former President Joe Biden violated the law when he ordered 625 million acres of federal waters closed to future oil and gas leasing because he failed to set an end date for the ban, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled Oct. 2.

Biden’s executive order, issued about 2 weeks before President Trump took office, violates the Outer Continental Lands Act (OCSLA) because it included no provisions allowing a future president to overturn it, Judge James Cain of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said in his ruling.

Cain’s order would allow the Trump administration to proceed with announced plans to schedule lease sales in the once-banned areas.

“The President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf,” Cain wrote, adding “this power was exercised sparingly between 1953 and 2008 and was subject to significant limitations each time.”

Cain explained that until the Obama administration, all presidents included an expiration date or provisions to allow future presidents to overturn the ban. He noted that President Bill Clinton, when he banned leasing in some OSCLA areas in 1998, expressly recognized that the withdrawals were “subject  to  revocation  by  the  President in  the  interest  of  national  security.” Similarly, President George H.W. Bush in 2008 issued a memorandum withdrawing certain  tracts  for  a  time-limited  period “subject  to  revocation  should  the President  determine the scheduling of a lease sale to be required in the interest of national security.”

The orders by former presidents Obama and Biden, which applied the ban and included no expiration date or limitations, “constituted  a  departure  from  the  executive  branch’s  longstanding  practice and exceed the authority granted” under the OCSLA, Cain wrote.

If the ban had stood, only the federal waters of the western and central Gulf of Mexico would have remained open for future oil and gas leasing.

The states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia and Mississippi, and the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Gulf Energy Alliance, filed a federal suit on Jan. 17, 2025, to block Biden’s order.

Friends of the Earth, Healthy Gulf, Oceana and Surfrider Foundation intervened in the suit.

“This ruling marks another important step in advancing a robust new 5-year offshore leasing program and ensuring the US can meet rising energy demand,” API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement.

Erik Milito, President of the National Offshore Industries Association (NOIA) added that the decision “underscores the importance of maintaining a balanced, pragmatic approach to offshore energy development” and that “unilateral bans” on future offshore oil and gas development undermine US energy security and economic growth.”

US offshore production accounts for nearly 2 million b/d, about 14% of total US crude oil production, according to the US Energy Information Administration.