U.S. Begins Work on Next Offshore Oil Leasing Plan—And It’s a Big One
The Biden offshore era is officially in the rearview mirror. On Friday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum kicked off the long march toward America’s 11th National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program—a sprawling, bureaucratic saga that ultimately decides where and when offshore drilling can happen.
The process begins with a simple Request for Information (RFI) from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), opening a 45-day public comment window. Expect everyone from oil majors to angry seagull lobbyists to weigh in.
Burgum, no stranger to energy-first headlines, is framing this as a patriotic play. “Energy Dominance,” he declared, is back on the table. And this time, it comes with a fresh map: the newly minted “High Arctic” planning area off Alaska, BOEM’s 27th and frostiest zone, joins the roster alongside updated boundaries for existing areas.
If you're wondering why this matters, here’s the math: as of April 1, BOEM oversees 2,227 active offshore leases, 469 of which are currently pumping out oil and gas. In FY2024, these offshore sites generated $7 billion for the feds and accounted for about 14% of all U.S. oil production. That’s not chump change—it’s strategic leverage.
And yet, the current five-year plan (2024–2029) includes just three lease sales, all in the Gulf of America. The new 11th plan could change that, dramatically—though no actual lease areas are on the table just yet.
This is Trump-era energy policy in full swing: fewer climate slogans, more hydrocarbons. Whether this translates into real barrels or just big political theater remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear—the offshore oil show is getting a new script, and Act I has just begun.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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