The Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) announced plans to publish a notice of availability for the Gulf of Mexico regional outer continental shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales: draft programmatic environmental impact statement on Dec. 13.
The EIS analyzes the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the Western, Central, and Eastern planning areas and the associated potential site and activity specific approvals resulting from a proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale.
The EIS is part of the Department of the Interior's 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which includes three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years. This program represents the smallest number of lease sales in any five-year period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and does not include sales in the Atlantic, Pacific, or Alaskan waters.
The Inflation Reduction Act requires BOEM to offer at least 60 million acres for oil and gas leasing on the OCS in the preceding year before issuing offshore wind leases. “This significantly reduced number of oil and gas lease sales from past Leasing Programs will enable the United States to meet its energy needs and continue the rapid and accelerating transition to clean energy,” a BOEM statement read.
The draft programmatic EIS is expected to inform the decision for the first GOM oil and gas lease sale proposed in the Leasing Program. It is also expected to be used and supplemented as appropriate for decisions on future proposed GOM lease sales. In addition, the programmatic EIS would be used to support post-lease site and activity-specific OCS oil and gas related analyses and approvals. BOEM will release the final EIS at least 30 days before any decision is issued.
The notice of availability for the draft EIS will be published in the Federal Register, initiating a 45-day public comment period. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov by searching for Docket No. BOEM-2023-0046.
BOEM will host three virtual public meetings on Jan. 14 (1 p.m. CST), Jan. 15 (9 a.m. CST), and Jan. 16 (6 p.m. CST), to provide information and gather feedback.
In response to BOEM's release of the draft EIS, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Erik Milito emphasized the importance of the GOM in supporting U.S. energy security and economic growth. In a prepared statement, Milito called for a more robust leasing schedule to maximize acreage for oil and gas lease activities.
