Planning for New Oil Leases TAMPA (WUSF) - The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to sell new drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Its lease initiative includes areas where offshore drilling is currently banned by Congress.

The Secretary of the Interior has the authority to develop alternative lease plans and is starting a new offshore drilling initiative for oil and gas.

Randall Luthi is director of the Minerals Management Service, the Interior agency responsible for oil and gas lease programs.

"We are following the lead of the president," says Luthi. "But, there's also great change that's occurred in the last year. And that's in the term of price increases."

He says the price of oil has doubled making more costly drilling feasible.

It will take more than a year to develop the new lease plan. Public comment will be taken for 45 days starting August 1. © Copyright 2009, WUSF