In furtherance of President Trump’s Executive Order on Unleashing American Energy, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, June 16 on the preparation of a national offshore oil and natural gas leasing program.
Among other things, the notice states that as a result of the development of a new leasing program and “the renewed potential for a lease sale in the Atlantic region,” BOEM “may receive new [oil and gas] [geological and geophysical] permit applications in the near future” for the Mid- and South Atlantic. Additionally, analyses will be conducted for all 27 planning areas, including areas not currently available for leasing due to congressional or presidential action.
Based on analysis and information obtained during this phase, the Interior Secretary will prepare a Draft Proposed Program with a preliminary schedule of proposed lease sales and potential decision options, which will be subject to further analysis and public comment.
In stating that National Environmental Policy Act analysis is not required for the development of the national leasing program, BOEM said it would prepare an environmental analysis document in lieu of a NEPA analysis that “will provide, in some ways, substantively similar content” to what would have been provided in a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, but would focus on Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Sec. 18 factors and analyses while excluding an analysis of alternatives.
In announcing the development of a new leasing program earlier this month, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called it “a decisive step toward securing American Energy Dominance,” adding that DOI is “reinforcing our commitment to responsible offshore energy development—driving job creation, bolstering economic growth and strengthening American energy independence” and “unlocking the full potential of our offshore resources to benefit the American people for generations to come.”
Related to the new program being developed, BOEM on Wednesday announced its decision to modify existing planning areas to account for changes to jurisdictional boundaries that were previously communicated by the State Department in 2023, as well as to add a new High Arctic Planning Area off Alaska.