The Trump administration is erasing an Obama-era rule that withdrew hundreds of millions of acres of federally owned land from possible energy exploration. In the process, it is also opening some U.S. coastal waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans for possible oil and gas drilling. This latest decision also opens the gateway to a hydrocarbon-rich region thought to contain some 27 billion barrels of oil, and over 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Environmental Protection Agency also amended the "Waters of the United States" rules that critics called unfair to agribusiness. The latter, according to President Trump, could prove to be an increasingly lucrative export market for Europe in the future.

Source: Fox News July 07, 2017 22:52 UTC