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In a statement posted on its website recently, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the next steps in the national outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing program.
“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management … announced the Notice of Availability of the Area Identification (Area ID) for proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Oil and Gas Lease Sales 262, 263, and 264,” BOEM noted in the statement, outlining that the Area ID published in the Federal Register on April 1.
The Area ID is not a decision to lease and is not a prejudgment by the Department of the Interior on how or whether to proceed with proposed Lease Sales 262, 263, and 264 under the National OCS Program, BOEM said in the statement.
“The Area ID simply determines which areas identified in the call will receive further consideration and analyses,” it added.
BOEM noted in the statement that a decision to lease must be preceded by several steps, including completion of environmental analyses pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act; consultation under environmental and other statutes; opportunities for federally recognized Tribes, governors of affected states, local government leaders, and other interested parties to provide comment; and the issuance of proposed and final notices of sale.
The statement highlighted that the Interior Department announced the 2024–2029 National OCS program on December 14, 2023.
“The first proposed sale under that program, Lease Sale 262, is tentatively scheduled for 2025,” BOEM said in its statement.
BOEM also highlighted in its statement that, on October 2, 2023, it published a call for information and nominations on the GOM area identified in the 2024–2029 National OCS Program.
“The call solicited industry nominations for areas of leasing interest and sought input from the public. Using the input received from the Call, BOEM created the Area ID,” BOEM said in the statement.
When asked for comment on BOEM’s statement, an API spokesperson said, “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”.
“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 added.
“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 U.S. energy security and will only make it harder to meet growing energy demand over the long-term,” the spokesperson continued.
When he was asked for comment on BOEM’s statement, Erik Milito, the President of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), said, “the Department of the Interior should conduct lease sales offering the maximum amount of acreage available”.
“The Gulf of Mexico has long served as a crucial economic engine and investment hub. However, imposing further unwarranted limits on lease sales or acreage availability risks shifting investments to regions worldwide with potentially lower environmental standards and higher emissions,” he added.
“It’s simple: consistent lease sales offering maximum acreage are vital for sustaining a steady flow of energy production, which is integral to our nation’s energy, economic, and security interests,” he continued.
Rigzone asked BOEM, the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the White House (WH) for comment on the API and NOIA’s statements. While BOEM and the DOI declined to comment, the DOE and the WH have not yet responded to Rigzone’s request at the time of writing.
In a statement posted on its site in December, the DOI stated, “consistent with the requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act concerning offshore conventional and renewable energy leasing, the Department of the Interior … published the final 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program with the fewest oil and gas lease sales in history”.
“The IRA prohibits the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 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 OCS in the previous year,” it added.
“The program schedules three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico Program Area in 2025, 2027, and 2029. These three lease sales are the minimum number that will enable the Interior Department’s offshore wind energy program to continue issuing leases in a way that will ensure continued progress towards the Administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030,” it continued.
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The post BOEM Announces Next Steps in Leasing Program appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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