Oil Markets Impacted Atlantic Drilling Decision: White House

Energy market dynamics factored into the decision by the Obama administration to reverse course on a proposal to open the southeastern Atlantic coastal area to oil and gas drilling, the White House said on Tuesday.

There were also objections from the Department of Defense, commercial interests and local communities, a White House spokesman said.

The U.S. Interior Department said earlier on Tuesday that it would not allow drilling in the area, reversing a January 2015 proposal for new leases in the Atlantic as part of the department's five-year plan to set new boundaries for oil development in federal waters through 2022.

Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Alana Wise