Obama announces broad plans for oil exploration in coastal areas

Reversing a ban on petroleum exploration off most of his country's coasts, US President Barack Obama announced plans for a broad expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling on Wednesday.

For more than 20 years, drilling was banned in most offshore areas of the United States, due to environmental concerns.

Barack Obama's new policy will allow new oil and natural gas platforms in waters along the southern Atlantic seaboard, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and some of the Alaska coastline.

The US President says the decision, aimed at reducing reliance on foreign energy sources, is also part of a strategy that includes expanding the development and production of clean energy sources.

U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday announces permission for oil drilling 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Virginia shorelines at Andrews air base on the outskirts of Washington. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)