Approximately 50 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico is being considered for renewable energy development, with Texas and Louisiana offshore areas having some of the highest wind capacity in the Gulf. Combined, the Gulf Coast States comprise 32% of the shallow-water offshore wind potential in the U.S. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management...Read More

Some offshore renewable energy regulations (mostly pertaining to offshore wind) dealing with workplace safety and environmental compliance will be transferred from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the U.S. Department of Interior announced yesterday, Jan. 17, 2023. A joint notice to lessees outlines the transfer of...Read More

On October 31, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it has finalized two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico, with the aggregate potential to produce enough clean wind energy to power nearly 3 million homes. The first WEA is located approximately 24 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of...Read More

New Research Explores the Influence of Deep-Sea Wooden Shipwrecks on Microbiome Diversity U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) marine archaeologists have studied shipwrecks in the northern Gulf of Mexico for many years.  New research recently published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography further explores the role that these shipwrecks serve as habitats, forming islands...Read More