The Obama administration is expected to announce today an opening of mid-Atlantic offshore waters to oil and gas exploration, potentially including regions off Delaware around ambitious wind energy development ventures.

Details of the proposal, part of a larger energy package, are expected to be released this morning. The plan reportedly includes authorization to drill 50 miles off Virginia's shoreline, and clearance for exploration elsewhere along the mid-Atlantic, southern coastal areas and the Gulf of Mexico.

Gov. Jack Markell's office already has inquired about details of the plan, according to Catherine Rossi, Markell's spokeswoman.

"We're trying to get questions answered from Washington," Rossi said. "Right now we don't have information about what exactly is proposed, what the process is. Those are the details we're looking for."

Labels: Atlantic Ocean, Obama, oceans, oil