WASHINGTON, Sept 24: The offshore drilling ban that became a flash point in the US presidential election looks set to expire next week after Democrats decided to drop the prohibition from a temporary spending bill that would keep the government running.

The end of the ban will not lead to a rush of new drilling any time soon, but it would be a big win for Republican Presidential nominee John McCain who has made opening most US offshore areas to drilling a key part of his campaign. His Democratic rival, Barack Obama, supports limited offshore drilling as part of a bigger overhaul of US energy policy.

The mammoth spending bill to keep the US government operating through next March will include a $25 billion loan guarantee package for the auto industry but makes no mention of offshore oil drilling, pushing the politically hot topic to the next president and new Congress.—Reuters