WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, in one of its final acts, is proposing to let energy companies drill for oil and natural gas in half-a-dozen areas off U.S. shores that previously had been off limits. The move puts the debate over offshore drilling back on the agenda as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the director of the federal agency that manages the nation's offshore oil and gas reserves, Randall Luthi, said the agency formally opened a 60-day public...