US Mining and Energy Extraction Sector NAICS 21

Nov 14, 2025 - Drilling Offshore California

• The Trump administration is expected to unveil a plan that would allow oil drilling off the California coast, The Wall Street Journal reported in November, citing sources familiar with the issue. Trump’s latest move to expand drilling off US coastlines also is expected to include a proposal for drilling around Alaska and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The administration has finalized plans to open the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to potential oil and gas drilling. Trump’s actions would reverse a ban by the Biden administration on new offshore drilling in certain federal waters, which a federal judge in Louisiana recently ruled was illegal. Trump’s plan drew quick condemnation from California Governor Gavin Newsom who called it dead on arrival. California’s crude oil output has decreased by over 50% in the last two decades, while US oil production has surged.
• The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $625 million investment to expand and reinvigorate America’s coal industry, according to a department press release. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called US coal essential to powering America’s reindustrialization and winning the AI race. The DOE has committed to providing: $350 million to restart or upgrade old coal plants, improving their capacity and reliability; $175 million for projects to bring power to rural areas, aiming to deliver cheaper, more reliable coal-fired electricity; $50 million to upgrade coal plant wastewater systems; and $25 million each for dual-firing retrofits, so plants can switch between coal and other fuels like natural gas, and developing 100% natural gas co-firing to keep boilers running efficiently if a plant uses gas instead of coal. America’s Power, a trade group representing coal interests, welcomed the announcement, while critics called it a colossal waste of money.

• Fed up with waiting for the Trump administration to to enforce federal limits on silica dust exposure, coal miners traveled to Washington in October to protest outside the Labor Department, The New York Times reports. Miners from West Virginia and other coal mining states say the administration has failed to protect them from black lung disease, an incurable illness caused by inhaling coal and silica dust. Cases of black lung disease have spiked recently, particularly among younger miners, due to exposure to silica dust, which, like coal dust, is a carcinogen. Mining industry groups have sued to block silica dust regulation limiting miners’ exposure citing the cost to mine operators. While the Biden administration set limits on miners’ exposure to the silica dust similar to that in the construction and other industries, the Trump administration has paused enforcement while the lawsuit plays out.
• On October 10, the price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil tumbled below the critical $60 mark for the first time since May, with Brent crude oil following suit, closing down 3.82%, OilPrice.com reports. The collapse in the price of oil was the result of a one-two punch: the Israel-Gaza cease fire’s easing of geopolitical risk; and escalating trade tensions between the US and China following new tariff threats on Chinese imports by President Trump that sparked fears that a global trade war would severely curtail world economic growth and, consequently, crush oil demand. According to OilPrice.com, the oil and gas industry's shift towards capital discipline and profitability over growth means that oil prices must stay above $70 per barrel for meaningful activity to continue.