BOEM Outlines Next Steps for Gulf Oil and Gas Leasing Program
WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Friday plans to proceed with three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years.
Initially announced in December 2023, as part of the Department of Interior’s “National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program,” the lease sales are seen as balancing the nation’s energy security with its climate goals.
The Inflation Reduction Act prohibits the agency from issuing a lease for offshore wind development unless the agency has offered at least 60 million acres for oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf in the previous year.
This significantly reduced number of oil and gas lease sales will enable the United States to meet its energy needs and continue the rapid and accelerating transition to clean energy.
The department also noted that while lease sales are anticipated for the Gulf of Mexico, no such sales are currently planned in Atlantic, Pacific and Alaskan waters.
In related news, BOEM has also announced the availability of a draft “programmatic” environmental impact statement on the areas that will be the subject of the sale.
The draft EIS is expected to inform the decision for the first Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale proposed in the leasing program.
It is also expected to be used and supplemented as appropriate for decisions on future proposed Gulf lease sales.
In addition, the draft EIS will be used to support post-lease site and activity-specific OCS oil and gas related analyses and approvals.
BOEM said it will make the final Programmatic EIS available to the public at least 30 days prior to the issuance of any decision.
The Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days, starting a 45-day comment period. Written comments can be submitted by going to: www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket No. BOEM-2023-0046.
Select the document in the search results on which you want to comment, click on the “Comment” button, and follow the online instructions for submitting your comment.
Three virtual public meetings will be held during the public comment period.
Jan. 14, 2025, 1 p.m. CDT Register here.
Jan. 15, 2025, 9 a.m. CDT Register here.
Jan. 16, 2025, 6 p.m. CDT Register here.
The bureau said there will be an opportunity for attendees to present oral testimony during each of these meetings.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue
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