Trump administration to reunite offshore drilling agencies split after Deepwater Horizon spill

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Interior Department said it’s merging two oversight agencies to create a Marine Minerals Administration and move toward a “more modern, coordinated approach” to managing offshore resources, including critical minerals.

The goal is to “improve coordination and increase efficiencies across offshore leasing, permitting, inspections and environmental oversight, while maintaining all existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards,” the Interior Department said in a statement on April 3.

The two agencies — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement — were part of the Minerals Management Service until its dissolution in 2011 after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and numerous scandals at the federal agency that policed offshore drilling.

The shift reflects “the need for a more integrated approach to managing conventional and emerging resources such as critical minerals,” according to the department. “By aligning planning, leasing and oversight functions, the Department is positioning the agency to better meet current and future energy demands.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the reorganization would help achieve President Donald Trump’s goal of greater government efficiency. 

Trump, who ran on a pro-drilling pledge during his successful 2024 reelection campaign, attempted a similar merger during his first administration. 

Before its dissolution, the MSS was involved in ethics scandals surrounding cocaine use, sexual misconduct and financial self-dealing by employees, which were documented in multiple probes that also exposed a close relationship between the oil and gas industry and the federal offshore regulators.