Teapot Dome scandal Teapot Dome was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics". It damaged the reputation of the Harding administration, which was already severely diminished by its controversial handling of the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 and Harding's veto of the Bonus Bill in 1922. In the early 20th century, the U.S. Navy largely converted from coal to fuel oil. To ensure that the Navy would always have enough fuel available, several oil-producing areas were designated as naval oil reserves by President Taft. In 1921, President Harding issued an executive order that transferred control of
Offshore oil and gas in the United States the Arctic Ocean is partly inside and partly outside the US EEZ. Historically, offshore drilling began by extending known coastal oil- and gas-producing trends out into the ocean. For this reason, most US offshore drilling has taken place offshore Louisiana, Texas, California, and Alaska, areas with coastal onshore oil and gas fields. The first federal lease sale offshore Alaska was held in 1976. Alaska produces oil and gas from offshore areas in the Cook Inlet and the Arctic Ocean. Endicott Island is an artificial island built to produce oil from beneath the Beaufort Sea. There are currently four artificial islands