The government shutdown is now delaying the rollout of President Donald Trump’s plans to expand offshore drilling.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Monday a series of public meetings on offshore drilling, which were scheduled for this week, have been postponed.
“If the government shutdown continues, any public meetings scheduled during that time also will be rescheduled,” the agency said.
The federal government shut down at midnight Saturday after Democrats and Republicans were unable to come to a deal on immigration. The impasse followed the Trump administration’s repeal earlier this year of the the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which allowed those who illegally entered the country as minors to stay in the United States.
The expansion of offshore oil and gas production has been a priority of the Trump administration. In the five-year plan announced earlier this month, the federal government would begin leasing next year waters along the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts, expanding offshore production beyond its current confines in the Gulf of Mexico.
This article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.
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