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This law change can only benefit companies that have a strong presence in the coast. We had mentioned the two oil and gas exploration companies in our Large Cap Selection here, that I believe would benefit handsomely. VLO and WMB.

So onto the story! In a move that could help win Republican support for other energy initiatives, President Obama will announce plans Wednesday to open large sections of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and an area off the Virginia coast for oil and natural gas drilling. This will set America on a path to energy independence that we must leverage our diverse domestic resources by pursuing a comprehensive energy strategy. The president will announce today additional measures that will boost domestic energy production and promote clean energy innovation.

The GOP has long championed additional domestic drilling to lessen America’s dependence on outside energy sources. And while the plan could help win Republican support for other White House initiatives, it won’t find many fans among environmentalists. The proposal includes lifting a 20-year ban on drilling off the Virginia coastline, while putting the clamps on sites that had been approved off the coast of Alaska. Additionally, the interior department would be authorized to conduct seismic surveys off the south and mid-Atlantic coasts to determine the quantity and location of potential oil and gas resources to support energy planning. The administration has been weighing the pros and cons of offshore drilling since it took office and put the brakes on a Bush-era proposal which called for drilling along the East Coast and off the coast of California. An administration official said, as part of the new plan, Interior will conduct the first new offshore oil and gas sale in the Atlantic Ocean in over two decades as part of a lease sale 50 miles off the coast of Virginia. A senior Interior official said in January that drilling off Virginia’s coast would be delayed past the original 2011 leasing date. The Bush plan had called for leases to be offered in November 2011 but it was not immediately clear whether the Obama administration would stick to that schedule. The proposed Virginia lease area, located about 50 miles from shore, may hold 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, based on Interior Department estimates.

In addition, the Interior Department will continue lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico, which have proved to have sizable reserves. Much of the Eastern Gulf is currently under a congressional moratorium on oil and gas operations. The Interior Department’s plan would open up about two-thirds of the available oil and gas resources in this region in the event that the moratorium is lifted, the official said. Military training in the Eastern Gulf will be protected and drilling activities will occur more than 125 miles from the Florida coast.

Proposed oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Bristol Bay will be canceled out of concern for protecting sensitive areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from environmental dangers.

This could affect companies like Royal Dutch Shell RDSA-LN // which has expressed interest in the region, as well as ConocoPhillips COP, BP BP-LN and Statoil. Four pending lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in North Alaska will be canceled and those areas reserved for future scientific research to determine if they are suitable for further leasing. At the same time, a previously scheduled lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet will proceed. Congress allowed a prohibition on offshore drilling to expire in 2008 and former President George W. Bush lifted a drilling moratorium that year.

The expanded offshore drilling is part of a larger effort by the White House to promote energy independence.

Obama will introduce the measures during an address at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington late Wednesday morning. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation will sign an agreement establishing fuel economy standards for cars and trucks for model years 2012-2016.  The White House is “leading by example” and will also announce the purchase of 5,000 hybrid vehicles for the federal fleet.