Washington (CNN) -- President Obama is applying the brakes, at least temporarily, to expansion of offshore oil drilling.
Obama is delaying oil exploration off the coast of Alaska, canceling the sale of a lease to drill off Virginia and extending the moratorium on permits to drill any new deepwater wells for six months, a White House official said Thursday.
Obama's announcements Thursday come in response to a deadly explosion on a Gulf of Mexico oil rig -- an accident that has triggered a devastating oil spill.
Obama has launched a presidential commission's safety review of offshore drilling in response to the incident.
The official said the moratorium will continue as the commission works to "determine how to prevent this from ever happening again.
"The planned exploration off the coast of Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas will be delayed pending the commission's review and the August lease sale in the Western Gulf will be canceled," the official told CNN.
"The lease sale off the coast of Virginia will also be canceled due to environmental concerns and concerns raised by the Defense Department," the official said.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who was directed to oversee the report, briefed Obama and senior advisers on the report Wednesday night.
Sen. Mark Begich, an Alaska Democrat, expressed "frustration" about the administration's new roadblocks for the state's oil industry.
The decision "will cause more delays and higher costs for domestic oil and gas production to meet the nation's energy needs," he said, as well as costing money and jobs in Alaska.
He conceded the Gulf spill "highlighted the need for much stronger oversight and accountability of oil companies working offshore," but said Shell Oil "can safely explore for oil and gas this summer in the Arctic."
Obama is due to take questions from the press on Thursday, and four congressional hearings were scheduled Thursday regarding the spill.
The president will travel to Louisiana on Friday to observe response efforts and speak to local officials. It will be his second trip to the region since the spill began.
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