The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has led Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to withdraw his support for an expansion of off-shore drilling.

There will not be any drilling off California's coast in the forseeable future, as Schwarzenegger would have to include a proposal for projects in his May revision of the state budget.

The governor said television images of the oil spill had changed his mind about the safety of ocean oil platforms.

“You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?'” Schwarzenegger said.

Oil investors fear other American politicians will follow suit in reversing recent policy announcements to boost the amount of exploration projects in the region.

The Republican governor had proposed expanding oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara County to help cut the state's $20 billion budget deficit. Democrats last year blocked a similar proposal, but Schwarzenegger gave his support, saying it was a reliable way to increase revenue as the state grapples with an ongoing fiscal crisis.

But yesterday Schwarzenegger said his support had been based on studies finding it was safe to drill. “I see on TV, the birds drenched in oil, the fishermen out of work, the massive oil spill, oil slick destroying our precious ecosystem,” he said.

A drilling deal struck in 2008 between environmental groups and Plains Exploration & Production was estimated to bring the state $100 million a year. The company was going to slant-drill up to 30 shafts into state waters from a platform in federal waters.

President Barack Obama said a month ago that he wanted to expand oil drilling off the Atlantic coast and in eastern portions of the Gulf. Including California would have been too difficult politically because of strong opposition within the state's congressional delegation and with environmental groups.

A 1969 blowout on a Union Oil platform off Santa Barbara fouled miles of ocean and beaches and led to a moratorium on offshore drilling.