Though the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is already grossly understaffed, the agency has become responsible for more and more approval processes as the administration has imposed additional industry regulations.

FORBES: Regulatory Grinches Threaten Obama's Natural Gas Christmas Wish

By issuing shallow water drilling permits at a rate 10 percent that of the same time last year, BOEM has imposed a de facto ban on offshore energy exploration on top of the official deepwater stay that ran from May to November.

FORBES: Regulatory Grinches Threaten Obama's Natural Gas Christmas Wish