The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has made modifications to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning areas used for managing the oil and gas program, increasing the total number of planning areas from 26 to 27. Announced in April 2025, this change includes the establishment of a new High Arctic Planning Area and updates to other planning areas, reflecting recent changes in U.S. OCS jurisdictional limits.
The main purpose of an OCS planning area is to divide large OCS regions for planning and other administrative purposes for oil and gas activities. Planning areas are also used to facilitate the required analytical comparison among the OCS regions at the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program development stage, as well as for coordination with state and local governments. The four OCS regions are Alaska, Pacific, Gulf of America, and Atlantic.
This update follows the U.S. Department of State’s Dec. 21, 2023, announcement regarding the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf as reflected in Public Notice 12244. As a result of this notice and amendments to the OCS Lands Act that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, BOEM has reassessed the jurisdictional limits of the OCS and recalculated acreages by region.
This update to the OCS planning areas enhances BOEM’s ability to manage and analyze our nation’s vital offshore resources, ensuring sustainable development in alignment with federal policies.
For more information, see: https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/outer-continental-shelf.
What is the Outer Continental Shelf?
BOEM explains that, in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the term “Outer Continental Shelf” (OCS) is defined as “(1) all submerged lands lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in the Submerged Lands Act, and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control or within the exclusive economic zone of the United States and adjacent to any territory of the United States; and (2) does not include any area conveyed by Congress to a territorial government for administration (43 USC 1331).
What are the OCS Planning Areas?
OCS jurisdiction covers approximately 3.2 billion acres and includes:
- 27 planning areas covering approximately 1.68 billion acres
- 9 OCS Areas covering approximately 1.48 billion acres
The main purpose of an OCS planning area is to divide large OCS regions for planning purposes. Planning areas are also used to facilitate the required analytical comparison among the OCS regions at the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program development stage, as well as coordination with state and local governments. The four OCS regions are Alaska, Pacific, Gulf of America, and Atlantic.
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy, mineral, and geological resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way.
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.
About Guice Offshore Vessels and Offshore Wind
Guice Offshore (GO) works with offshore wind developers coast to coast.
“Our growing fleet of Jones Act-compliant, dynamically positioned offshore supply vessels, mini supply vessels and platform vessels is well-positioned to help meet our nation’s conventional and floating offshore wind energy infrastructure installation and service goal deadlines, whether it’s crew transfer, service, cable laying, subsea work like scour protection or equipment transportation,” noted Guice Offshore Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Scheyd.
