Biden Set To Ban Future Offshore Oil Drilling: 4 Stocks, 2 ETFs To Watch

Erica Kollmann

January 6, 2025

Benzinga

President Joe Biden intends to ban offshore drilling along most of the U.S. coast before leaving the White House.

The Details: Biden said Monday he will protect more than 625 million acres of the ocean from future offshore oil and gas drilling. This includes the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and portions of the Bering Sea.

"My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation's energy needs," Biden said in the statement.

Biden will use powers given under the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act which allows the president to indefinitely withdraw unleased lands from the outer continental shelf. The withdrawal of the lands has no expiration date and President-elect Donald Trump will likely not be able to reverse the protections without an act of Congress.

Trump pledged to increase domestic energy and fossil fuel production during his campaign and Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump Vance transition team, took to social media to speak out against President Biden's decision.

"This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill," Leavitt posted on X.

This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill. https://t.co/NvWx7oA2vU
— Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) January 6, 2025

Why It Matters: Biden’s offshore drilling ban could have significant impacts on several companies in the oil and gas sector.

Companies with offshore operations include Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) and Noble Corp. plc (NYSE:NE), which provide contract drilling services.

Other names to watch in the oil industry include Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes Co. (NASDAQ:BKR) which both have modest exposure to the offshore drilling industry.

The Range Global Offshore Oil Services Index ETF (NYSE:OFOS) is focused specifically on offshore drilling services. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (NYSE:XES) includes companies involved in oil and gas equipment and services.

Read Next: