The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the publication of a Proposed Notice of Sale (PNOS) for an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America.

As directed by Secretary of the Interior and outlined in the PNOS,Lease Sale 262 will offer approximately 15,000 unleased blocks located 3 to 231 miles offshore across the Gulf’s Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas.Covering roughly 80 million acres, these blocks are situated in water depths ranging from 9 feet to more than 11,100 feet (3 to 3,400 meters).

This sale is the first of three planned lease sales in the Gulf of America under the 2024–2029 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. BOEM is also in the process of developing a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program that will include additional leasing opportunities.

"Offshore oil and gas play a vital role in our nation's energy portfolio, with the Gulf of America supplying 14% of domestically produced oil," saidBOEM’s Principal Deputy Director Matt Giacona. "This proposed lease sale demonstrates BOEM’s commitment to advancing American Energy Dominance and fostering the production of affordable, reliable energy resources for the nation.”

The Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf spans approximately 160 million acres and is estimated to contain around 48 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable oil and 141 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Leases awarded through Lease Sale 262 will be for oil and gas exploration and development only. Certain areas may be excluded from this lease sale, including blocks subject to the Sept. 8, 2020, presidential withdrawal, blocks adjacent to or beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the northern portion of the Eastern Gap, and blocks within the current boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

"To support robust industry participation, lower production costs, and unleash the full potential of the Gulf of America’s offshore energy reserves, BOEM is proposing a royalty rate of 16 ⅔ percent for both shallow and deepwater leases—the lowest rate for deepwater since 2007,” saidBOEM’s Acting Regional Director for the GOA Laura Robbins.

The Notice of Availability for the PNOS will be available for public inspection in the Federal Register on June 26, 2025, and will officially be published on June 27, 2025.

The publication of the PNOS will initiate a 60-day comment period for the affected state governors and local governments. Following the comment period, BOEM will issue a Final Notice of Sale in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the scheduled public bid reading, which will be live streamed via Zoom. The lease sale bid reading is proposed for December 10, 2025.

More information, including the PNOS package and a detailed map of the proposed lease sale area, is available here.