At the end of June, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a proposed notice for an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America. This follows an April directive from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Currently, a 60-day comment period is underway for affected state and local governments. After this, BOEM will issue a Final Notice of Sale in the Federal Register no less than 30 days before scheduling the public bid reading, which is proposed for December 2025.

This is very positive for the GOA and the thousands of jobs that support deepwater oil and gas. It stands in stark contrast to other regions of the United States Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), where bipartisan efforts aim to prevent offshore drilling, most notably in the OCS areas of the Carolinas, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Unfortunately, the prosperity provided by our industry is being blocked in these states, hindering increased production that could strengthen the U.S.’s energy independence. The GOA currently accounts for 1.77 million barrels of production per day, or roughly 13% of all U.S. oil production. The opportunities to expand production are significant and would benefit all Americans. While it’s regrettable that offshore production in the United States is largely confined to the Gulf of America, we will continue to capitalize on the opportunities this region offers to our industry.