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Outgoing President Barack Obama has permanently banned offshore oil and gas drilling in the "vast majority" of US-owned northern waters. Areas in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans have been made "indefinitely off limits" to future leasing. The move is widely seen as an attempt to protect the region before Mr Obama leaves office - although some say it can be challenged. Our business reporter Philip Hampsheir explains.

(Picture - Campaigners against oil exploration during a protest in the Port of Seattle in 2015. Credit: David Ryder/Getty Images)