In a major reversal of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program announced by the Obama administration on January 28, 2015, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced yesterday that the U.S. government will not allow drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, declaring that the administration’s plan “protects the Atlantic for future generations.”

Early reports suggest this latest decision was a result of strong opposition from local communities and the Pentagon, which took the position that drilling in the area proposed under last year’s drilling program conflicted with military activities in the Atlantic Ocean. With lingering supply and demand concerns, this news, oddly, may be good news for industry leaders, although drilling in this area was not set to commence until 2021.