On June 25, 2025, 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,” said BOEM’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,” said BOEM’s Acting Regional Director for the GOA Laura Robbins.
Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities generate billions of dollars from lease sales, rental fees and royalties. The funds are distributed to the U.S. Treasury, as well as states through several different revenue sharing programs that fund conservation and outdoor recreation across the nation. The largest portion goes to the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury, which benefits all U.S. citizens through funding of daily operations of the federal government. Offshore development fuels state and federal revenues, helping fund infrastructure, education and public services.
Energy independence is a cornerstone of U.S. economic strength, national security and global stability, boosting American energy dominance and reducing reliance on unstable foreign producers. By continuing to expand offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, strengthens domestic industry and reinforces its role as an energy superpower.
Next Steps
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 on BOEM’s website here.
About Guice Offshore Oil and Gas Vessels
Since the late 1940s, oil and gas companies have explored the U.S. Continental Shelf and International waters for hydrocarbons. Since that time, tens of thousands of wells have been drilled and many hundreds of platforms erected in U.S. waters alone. Support vessels are a necessary and critical part of the offshore E&P environment and are utilized in almost every phase of the extraction process from survey and drilling to production and abandonment. Guice Offshore maintains a strong presence in the northern Gulf of America E&P sector; our vessels are most often employed in support of Platform and Pipeline Operations (production activities, logistics, diving, ROV, inspection, maintenance, repair, plug and abandonment), and we also participate in certain early exploration phases like surveying.
