Coming Sunday

Oil and gas companies, closer than ever to drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, want to explore another frontier: America’s coastlines.

The Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico are protected by a federal ban on new oil and natural gas extraction. But with rising worry about the country’s dependence on fuel imports and soaring prices, energy producers feel they now have a unique opportunity — and a more effective strategy — to relax or eliminate the restrictions.

Read more about the expanded search for energy in Sunday’s Business section.