The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced its decision to public a Proposed Notice of Sale for a Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas lease sale to be held in Sept. 2023. Lease Sale 261 would offer ~13,620 blocks spanning 73.4 million acres of the Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas.
BOEM noted that the lease sale is required by the Inflation Reduction Act and that the lease sale terms include measures to mitigate potential adverse effect on protected species and avoid potential conflicts with other uses. The Proposed Notice of Sale was formally published on Mar. 15, with comments from affected state and local governments due by Wednesday, May 15 regarding the size, timing, and location of the lease sale.
