Image: BOEM
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Offshore Energy (BOEM) introduced plans for the first-ever offshore wind lease sale off the U.S. West Coast. Today, with significantly much less fanfare and tub thumping, BOEM introduced the subsequent steps it’s taking for oil and fuel leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) with a purpose to adjust to provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
These steps embody a proposed sale for the Gulf of Mexico area and completion of an environmental assessment for Cook Inlet, offshore Alaska.
GULF OF MEXICO SALE
The Inflation Reduction Act directed BOEM to carry Lease Sale 259 by March 31, 2023, and the company is not going to maintain the sale till the previous few days earlier than that deadline.
According to BOEM’s proposed notice of sale for Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 259, the sale will likely be held at 9:00 a.m., Central time on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, and BOEM should obtain all sealed bids previous to the bid submission deadline of 10:00 a.m., Central time, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the day earlier than the lease sale
ALASKA LEASE SALE
A Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the potential impacts of Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258 has been printed on BOEM’s web site. A Notice of Availability of the Final EIS will likely be printed within the Federal Register within the coming days. In the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress directed BOEM to carry the Alaska lease sale by the top of this 12 months.
After analyzing a spread of options, the Final EIS identifies the popular different, which might provide for lease 193 unleased OCS blocks (roughly 387,771 hectares or 958,202 acres). It defers the 17 OCS blocks wholly or partially overlapping beluga whale and northern sea otter essential habitats; and applies extra mitigation measures to cut back potential impacts to the beluga whales and their essential habitat and feeding areas, sea otters and their essential habitat, and the gillnet fishery.
NOIA: “SIMPLY GOOD POLICY”
National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito issued the next assertion:
“Americans proceed to be beleaguered by excessive power costs and the American financial outlook is unsure, at greatest. Continued American offshore oil and fuel manufacturing means good-paying jobs, reasonably priced power provides, and necessary funding for native infrastructure wants, coastal restoration and resiliency, and parks and recreation applications.
“Almost all of American offshore oil and fuel manufacturing happens within the Gulf of Mexico. The area is an financial engine that operates beneath world class security requirements and produces among the many lowest carbon barrels of oil on the earth. Maintaining lease gross sales is prime with regards to conserving power flowing. We ought to by no means should rely upon overseas nations for power when we’ve the premier, decrease carbon power area which is the Gulf of Mexico.
“In other words, supporting continued American offshore oil and gas production is simply good policy.”
