US BOEM to consider entire Gulf of Mexico program area for offshore oil, gas leasing

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recommended consideration of all available blocks within the Gulf of Mexico for lease sale planning and further environmental analysis under the agency's offshore oil and gas leasing program, moving away from a targeted leasing approach that was pitched last year.

BOEM's recommendation, published in the Federal Register April 1, lays out the area that will be subject to further review for potential lease sales. It is not a decision to lease nor a prejudgment by the Interior Department on how, or whether, to proceed with future lease sales.

Nonetheless, the area identification marks a milestone in advancing the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which contemplates conducting three oil and gas auctions over that five-year period.

The recommended area includes 17,518 whole and partial blocks covering 94.1 million acres and excludes areas unavailable to leasing due to presidential withdrawals from 2008 and 2020, including 17 blocks within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the bulk of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico planning area and a portion of the Central planning area.

"While BOEM's announcement is a small step forward, the fact remains that the administration's approach to federal offshore leasing fails to adequately address the energy needs of the American people," a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said in an April 1 email.

"Despite the increasing demand for affordable and reliable energy, this year will be the first year in decades without a single offshore lease sale," the spokesperson said. "The administration's decision to limit access and opportunities for future production in a region crucial for powering our nation is a step in the wrong direction for US energy security, and will only make it harder to meet growing energy demand over the long term."

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in December signed off on a plan to conduct the fewest offshore oil and gas lease sales in history.

"Imposing further unwarranted limits on lease sales or acreage availability risks shifting investments to regions worldwide with potentially lower environmental standards and higher emissions," National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito said in an April 1 statement.

Targeted approach

BOEM last year launched a call for input on future Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sales and areas of leasing interest. Within its October 2023 request for comments, the agency said that consideration of a targeted leasing approach was warranted due to the many other uses of the Outer Continental Shelf.

A targeted approach would see the agency further refine and narrow areas proposed for leasing based on public input and analysis, BOEM said at the time. The agency could, for instance, remove areas that serve as unique habitat and areas used for commercial fishing. It could also home in on areas with the highest resource potential under a targeted approach.

The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and other environmental groups, in their comments, urged BOEM to take that route.

Those groups' comments often opposed holding any oil and gas auctions and called on BOEM to limit the size of lease sales, supporting the expansion of mitigation measures that limit impacts to communities and wildlife as well as a greater emphasis on climate impacts. They hoped that BOEM would take the initiative to recommend early on the exclusion of areas designated for future wind leasing, critical habitat for the endangered Rice's whale, and other areas of potential conflict like proposed Department of Defense exclusion areas.

Oil and gas groups and companies argued against the targeted leasing model, contending in their comments that region-wide lease sales were necessary to stabilize energy markets and supplies over time and to enable the industry to adapt to changing markets and technologies.

They pushed for the maximum amount of acreage to be considered, highlighting the oil and gas sector's use of mitigation measures to minimize impacts and long history of coexisting with other activities in offshore waters.

Focus on flexibility

Comments from all sides -- along with information BOEM gathered on the environment, potential conflicts with existing uses of offshore waters, and oil and gas resource potential -- helped the agency formulate the recommended area for leasing, according to a memo between agency staff and BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.

"This Area ID recommendation maintains maximum flexibility for DOI's decision-making at the lease sale stage for the three sales in the 2024-2029 National OCS Program," while also providing flexibility as BOEM develops reasonable alternatives and determines the environmental analyses and consultations required ahead of auctions, the memo said.

Stressing that the recommendation is not "an irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources," staff in the memo also explained that BOEM can and routinely mandates area exclusions and mitigations in the notice of sale and record of decision for individual auctions.

"Maintaining flexibility at this stage of the process will allow BOEM to base potential future exclusions and mitigations on its consideration of the results of environmental analyses included in the GOM Regional [Environmental Impact Statement], which will be completed before making any decisions to hold the lease sales proposed in the 2024-2029 National OCS Program," the memo said.