Offshore Drilling Backers Smell Victory

For decades, drilling for oil and natural gas off of much of the U.S. coastline has been off limits. But this year, with Congress facing high energy prices and a fresh lobbying push from oil companies and their supporters, even drilling opponents acknowledge that they may lose their fight to keep bans in place.

A flurry of legislation from members of both parties would allow drilling for oil and natural gas in new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf — land that lies under federal waters that surround the United States and typically stretch from three to 200 miles offshore.

One of the proposed laws, co-sponsored by Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), would extend current prohibitions but allow governors to ask the federal government to opt out of the ban and allow drilling for natural gas.

At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, oil and gas industry officials asked Congress to further open the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling.

Washington Post