Racing against the clock to squeeze in as much planned decline as possible

Just one more thing for the new Congress / administration to undo:

The Obama administration on Friday banned offshore drilling in the Arctic, setting a likely collision course with President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to “unleash” new energy production in the United States by rolling back restrictions on oil and gas companies.

The move by the Interior Department, part of a new five-year plan for energy development in federal waters, would put a temporary end to exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the Alaskan coast. It also dropped plans to allow companies to drill for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean off of four southeastern states, including Virginia.

“The plan focuses on lease sales in the best places — those with highest resource potential, lowest conflict, and established infrastructure — and removes regions that are simply not right to lease,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement Friday. “Given the unique and challenging Arctic environment and industry’s declining interest in the area, forgoing lease sales in the Arctic is the right path forward.”

The WaPo article goes on to cite government officials and energy-industry figures who say that these areas are of declining interest in terms of oil extraction.

But if you read far enough, it also offers a countervailing view:

 . . . representatives of the oil and gas industry called the decision a short-sighted one that could cost American jobs.

“Our national energy security depends on our ability to produce oil and natural gas here in the U.S., and this decision could very well increase the cost of energy for American consumers and close the door on creating new jobs and new investments for years,” said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute. “We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision.”

Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation also slammed the decision to strip leases from the government’s five-year plan, saying it would prevent access to vast resources that could help grow the economy.

“We have shown that Arctic development is one of the best ways to create jobs, generate revenues, and refill the Trans-Alaska Pipeline,” Sen. Lisa Murkowsi (R-Alaska), said in a statement, adding that she was “infuriated” by the Obama administration’s decision. “Why the president is willing to send all of those benefits overseas is beyond explanation.” 

There's no explanation for why the Most Equal Comrade's regime would foreclose on any possible source of US oil other than to stick it to the cause of human advancement in America. Or, on a more personal level, stick it to the incoming government.