US creates new offshore oil and gas leasing program

U.S. President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans to change the five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program approved by the Obama administration in his quest to open up more federal land to drilling.

Trump said that the federal government is creating a new offshore oil and gas leasing program.

"America will be allowed to access the vast energy wealth located right off our shores. This is all just the beginning, believe me. The golden era of American energy is now underway," Trump said during a briefing.

The current 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program has 11 scheduled lease sales, ten of which are in the Gulf of Mexico region. The other is for blocks in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, E&P reported.

Oil and gas industry players had pushed for additional acreage, including in the Atlantic region.