Moratoria provisions for the outer continental shelf, enacted over 26 years, prohibited federal spending on oil and gas development in certain locations and for certain activities. These annual congressional moratoria expired on Sept. 30, 2008. While the expiration of the legislative restrictions does not make leasing and drilling permissible in all offshore areas, it is a significant development in conjunction with other changes in offshore leasing activity. Contents of this report: (1) Recent Developments; (2) Economic Feasibility; Environmental Risk; Improvements in Offshore Technology; (3) Sources of U.S. Moratorium Policy; (4) Background on Ocean Governance; (5) U.S. Moratoria in International Areas; (6) Issues for Congress. Maps. Illustrations.

Debate, puts it in perspective, and explores the prospects for future development. It traces the factors that led to the ascendancy of oil as an energy source, the emergence of the technology that made undersea extraction possible, the political forces that led to the dramatic offshore boom in the Gulf of Mexico, and the national policies that eventually produced the closing of virtually all offshore federal lands to the agency created within the Department of Interior.