BOEM issues draft 2026 to 2031 offshore leasing program
United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management BOEM released a draft plan of the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program on 20 November 2025, setting forth an aggressive expansion of federal offshore acreage available to industry. This draft program would replace Biden-era 2025-2029 program by President Trumps Unleashing American Energy directive that requires wider access for offshore resources.
Draft documents analyzed by environmental and legal analysts show that BOEM proposes leasing activity over approximately 1.3 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf between 2026-2031, including lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaskan waters, and Pacific region. The proposal represents a sharp departure from previous administration's limited three sale schedule and signals its intent of providing long term offshore supply security. On November 24th a 60 day public comment window officially opened; officials indicate there may be at least two rounds of revision before an approved program.
The draft programme will operate in parallel with permanent withdrawals imposed in early 2025 over substantial portions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Northern Bering Sea planning areas, which removed more than 600 million acres from future leasing. Industry groups are now focused on how BOEM will reconcile those prior withdrawals with the new acreage proposals, while coastal states and non governmental organisations are preparing detailed technical submissions challenging the expansion on environmental and climate grounds.
First Gulf of America lease sale under One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On 10 December 2025, BOEM hosted its Gulf of America Oil and Gas Lease Sale under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act OBBB for the first time since late 2023 and to help improve United States offshore acreage against other deepwater provinces. This inaugural sale followed 30 lease sales mandated through 2040 under this statute as well as reduced royalties from 15 percent down to 12.5 percent for qualifying tracts - an initiative designed to make U.S. offshore tracts more competitive against its deepwater competitors.
According to industry legal analyses of the auction results, the December Gulf of America sale generated more than 300 million United States dollars in high bids, demonstrating sustained appetite for Gulf deepwater opportunities despite commodity price volatility. While the number of bids and tracts receiving bids was lower than in the December 2023 sale, observers reported strong interest in core deepwater fairways and infrastructure led exploration plays. The use of a reduced royalty rate is seen by offshore operators and contractors as a key factor in preserving project economics for capital intensive subsea developments.
Sale outcomes provide a glimpse of how upstream companies are adapting their portfolios in response to the OBBB framework. Analysts are keenly watching whether the combination of multidecade sale schedule and lower fiscal take can draw in large majors, independents and private equity-backed players into new exploration and tieback projects across central and western Gulf. Service sector firms including offshore drilling contractors and marine logistics providers anticipate an upsurge in tendering activity as newly acquired blocks enter seismic acquisition and appraisal phases.
Second Gulf of America sale scheduled for March 2026
On 19 November 2025 BOEM announced its second offshore oil and gas lease sale under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, scheduled for 11 March 2026 in the Gulf of Mexico also referred to as the Gulf of America in recent policy documents. The agency confirmed that the sale notice was published in the Federal Register on 20 November 2025, maintaining the administrations commitment to an accelerated leasing timetable under the new legislative mandate.
The March 2026 sale will offer approximately 15000 blocks covering approximately 80 million acres between 3 and 231 miles offshore. Industry associations such as the International Association of Drilling Contractors have welcomed this development as a significant expansion of offshore activity pipeline. They highlight estimates that the US Outer Continental Shelf still contains 30 billion barrels of undiscovered oil resources and 55 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas resources; for offshore drillers this ensures continuous demand for floating and jack up rigs, subsea equipment and associated marine support over this decade.
Contractors note that the close sequencing between December 2025 and March 2026 sales is critical to fleet planning, enabling rig owners and service providers to better coordinate capacity with exploration campaigns that span multiple months. At the same time, environmental groups have expressed concerns that expanded sale schedule is inconsistent with national emissions reduction targets while increasing risks for Gulf coast communities that depend on fisheries and tourism for economic prosperity.
Administration moves to open Pacific federal waters to drilling
On 20 November 2025, the Department of the Interior unveiled their plan to reopen federal Pacific Ocean waters for oil and gas leasing for the first time since over four decades. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum presented his draft plan under an order entitled Unleashing American Offshore Energy as part of a larger 2026-2031 leasing programme with up to 34 offshore lease sales slated across 1.27 billion acres through 2031.
The proposal consists of six potential lease sale areas along the Pacific Coast, 21 off Alaska and seven in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore energy trade groups such as National Ocean Industries Association and American Petroleum Institute praised this move, noting it opens new basins up for exploration which in turn helps sustain domestic production, support supply chain jobs and meet long term demand. Industry representatives stressed no area should be excluded before conducting a full geoscience and economic assessment - BOEM estimates indicate federal Pacific waters could contain over 10 billion barrels in recoverable resources!
This plan has met with immediate and coordinated political and legal opposition from coastal states. California lawmakers warned that expanding offshore drilling would threaten one of the world's most valuable and heavily protected coastlines, and pledged to use state laws such as the California Coastal Act and Environmental Quality Act against new federal developments. Environmental groups like Oceana and Surfrider Foundation are challenging the program as well, citing risks such as oil spills and long-term ecosystem degradation that threaten tourism and recreation sectors reliant on clean marine environments for tourism or recreation activities. A 60 day public comment period will follow publication in the Federal Register; after which Interior will analyze any critical feedback against their energy security goals before issuing their leasing schedule for Pacific region projects.
Offshore political resistance expands beyond the Pacific region
The November offshore leasing initiatives have caused unease among coastal states that had previously relied on bipartisan opposition for new drilling activities. In Florida, Republican and Democratic officials alike have expressed alarm over plans by President Obama's administration to expand oil development offshore areas that may impact tourism-driven economies as well as naval/space launch operations and naval/space launch facilities. County leaders argue that clean beaches and fisheries outweigh potential royalties generated from industrial activity offshore.
Offshore operators and service companies face increased political resistance that necessitates them evaluating near shore opportunities with greater care. Though deeper Gulf of Mexico tracts remain popular as production hubs, any shift eastward towards the eastern Gulf or expansion into Atlantic and Pacific planning areas would likely encounter strong opposition from numerous stakeholders. Market participants will closely track how BOEM and the Department of the Interior structure upcoming environmental reviews and stakeholder engagement processes to gauge legal delays, additional operating conditions or potential exclusion of near shore blocks from future lease sales.
Contracting and compliance backdrop for offshore operators
The new leasing dynamics align with changing contracting and compliance trends in the offshore space. Drilling contractors active in the United States Gulf are already showing interest in multi year programmes tied to December 2025 and March 2026 sales, with some international rig operators signaling plans to reposition high specification floaters into this region. At the same time, recent regulatory actions against asset owners in the Pacific underscore that any move into newly opened basins will face greater scrutiny from authorities.
Local permitting bodies off California have taken an aggressive stance toward legacy offshore oil infrastructure, prompting questions over its viability for supporting future production under federal leases. State officials have issued warnings that companies wishing to commercialise Pacific volumes must rely more heavily on direct loading tankers and distant refining options, increasing logistical costs and operational complexity as a result of project economics. As United States offshore leasing accelerates on paper, drilling programs' ability to move from exploration into sanctioned development will depend on how operators navigate this intertwined landscape of federal potential and state restrictions.