Outer Continental Shelf Overview
Federal Oil and Gas Leasing and Revenue Distribution
Oil and gas leasing has been prohibited on most of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) since the 1980s. Congress has enacted OCS leasing moratoria for each of Fiscal Years 1982_2006 in the annual Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (now the Interior and Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill), allowing leasing only in the Gulf of Mexico (except near Florida) and parts of Alaska. President George H.W. Bush in 1990 issued a presidential directive ordering the Department of the Interior (DOI) not to conduct offshore leasing or preleasing activity in areas covered by the annual legislative moratoria until 2000. In…
