Written by Garrett Renshaw
(Reuters) – US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday reversing former President Joe Biden's efforts to prevent oil drilling in the Arctic and along large areas off the US coast, the White House said.
This month, Biden banned the development of new offshore oil and gas projects along most American coasts before Trump took office.
Biden's move was seen as mostly symbolic, because it would not affect areas where oil and gas development is currently underway, and mainly covers areas where drilling companies do not have significant prospects, including the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The White House announced that Trump also canceled a 2023 memorandum banning oil drilling in about 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) in the Arctic.
The oil drilling ban was one of dozens of measures taken by Biden that Trump rescinded on his first day in office.
