US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to start developing a new schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
The 11th National OCS Program will replace the current 10th Program (2024–2029), which includes just three lease sales over 5 years, all located in the Gulf of America, said in a release on April 18.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced the move as part of the administration’s strategy towards securing “American Energy Dominance.”
“Through a transparent and inclusive public engagement process, we are reinforcing our commitment to responsible offshore energy development—driving job creation, bolstering economic growth and strengthening American energy independence. Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, we are unlocking the full potential of our offshore resources to benefit the American people for generations to come,” said Burgum.
BOEM will publish in the Federal Register a request for information and comments on the preparation of the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. This publication will initiate a 45-day public comment period and serve as the initial step in the multi-year planning process.
A notable development in this initiative is that BOEM’s jurisdiction on the OCS has recently changed. A new planning area offshore Alaska -the High Arctic- is being established as the 27th OCS planning area. Additionally, boundaries of other existing planning areas are being updated to align with BOEM’s revised jurisdiction.
Current data show that BOEM manages 2,227 active oil and gas leases covering approximately 12.1 million acres in OCS regions. Of these, 469 leases are currently producing oil and gas.
In fiscal year 2024 alone, production from OCS leases accounted for approximately 14% of domestic oil production and 2% of domestic natural gas production, yielding $7 billion in federal revenues.
Additionally, the OCS holds vast quantities of undiscovered energy resources. BOEM’s most recent assessment estimates a mean of 68.79 billion barrels of oil and 229.03 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The Secretary Burgum on April 4 directed BOEM to move forward with a lease sale in the Gulf of America.
The US Department of the Interior said that the RFI does not propose a specific timeline for future lease sales or make any early determinations regarding which areas may be included. “Instead, it invites stakeholders to provide insight and recommendations for leasing opportunities, raise concerns and identify other existing uses that may be affected by offshore leasing,” the department noted.
