The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it is opening a 30-day public comment period as it prepares to act on five permit requests from geophysical companies to conduct seismic surveys for potential oil and gas off the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast coast.
In a notice issued Monday, the agency said its move is a step toward implementing President Trump’s executive order seeking to reopen offshore development on the outer continental shelf, from Delaware south to Georgia
The clock starts running with publishing the notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register. Reviving the process brings back permits that were sought last year from the Obama administration by three Houston-based geophysical companies – WesternGeco LLC, ION GeoVentures, and Spectrum Geo Inc. — plus CGG, Paris, France, and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company, Asker, Norway.