The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Friday that it will offer 77.3 million acres offshore oil and gas exploration and development on the Gulf Coast, which will include Florida.
- U.S. Interior Dept. announces sites for offshore oil exploration
- List includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Florida
Other offshore sites include Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to a U.S. Interior press release.
The sale only applies to areas already open to drilling.
This announcement comes on the heels of a decision made by President Donald Trump in January to exempt Florida from offshore drilling, after pushback from leaders like Gov. Rick Scott following the Interior Dept. announcing it would open offshore drilling in the Atlantic from Maine to Florida.
The plan will not affect Secretary Ryan Zinke's commitment to not expanding oil drilling off Florida's coast, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Rick Scott in a Tampa Bay Times article.
The lease sale is reportedly the largest in U.S. history and is scheduled for March 21, 2018. It will include all available unleased areas in the Gulf of Mexico, the Interior says.