Sponsors (12)
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Requires a large expansion of onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing by mandating specific numbers, locations, and schedules of lease sales, changing program rules, and limiting the President’s ability to pause or delay leasing. Sets deadlines, acreage/royalty requirements, and narrow environmental exceptions while authorizing leasing in specific regions including certain States, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska.
Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the Secretary of the Interior must conduct a minimum of 4 oil and natural gas onshore lease sales annually in each of these States: Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada, and any other State with land available for leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act. In each sale, the Secretary must offer all parcels eligible for oil and gas development under the resource management plan in effect for the State. If a scheduled sale for a calendar year is canceled, delayed, or deferred (including for lack of eligible parcels), the Secretary must hold a replacement sale in the same calendar year.
Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the Secretary must conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide offshore oil and natural gas lease sales annually in the Gulf of Mexico Region of the Outer Continental Shelf. These sales must use the same lease form, lease terms, economic conditions, and stipulations as in the final notice of sale at 88 Fed. Reg. 80750 (Nov. 20, 2023), and must include the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas as described in the 2017–2022 OCS Proposed Final Program.
Specific required dates for Gulf of Mexico region-wide lease sales: the Secretary shall conduct lease sales on or before each of these dates from 2026 through 2035: March 31 and August 31 of each year (beginning 2026-03-31 and ending 2035-08-31). The schedule lists each March 31 and August 31 date for 2026 through 2035.
Amends Section 104 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to extend the moratorium date: replaces the date 'June 30, 2022' with 'December 31, 2035'. It also adds the South Atlantic Planning Area and the Straits of Florida Planning Area to the areas covered by the moratorium.
The moratoria under the amended subsection shall not affect valid existing leases that are in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection.
Who is affected and how:
Oil and gas companies, offshore lease bidders, and oilfield service firms: Directly affected by increased leasing opportunities, new sales schedules, and tighter acreage/royalty rules; they may gain access to more leases and predictable sale timing but must meet new terms and bid on mandated sales.
Federal leasing agencies (e.g., agencies that manage the Outer Continental Shelf program and onshore leasing offices): Face heavier workloads to meet statutory deadlines, reduced discretion to delay or change sales, and pressure to finalize environmental and administrative reviews more quickly.
Coastal shoreline communities, commercial fishers, and tourism businesses: May experience greater industrial activity offshore and onshore near lease areas, which can mean jobs and revenue but also increased environmental and social impacts (noise, spills risk, ecological change) and disruptions to fishing and recreation.
State and local governments and Tribal governments: May see economic benefits from leasing (jobs, payments, shared revenues) and also face community and environmental planning challenges; some States are explicitly targeted by the schedule and will be more directly affected.
Environmental groups and recreation stakeholders: Likely to be negatively affected by an overall increase in leasing and the statute’s limits on delays and broader environmental pauses; the compressed processes may reduce time for review and public input, raising concerns about environmental protection.
Federal budget and revenues: The expansion of leasing may increase federal receipts from lease bonuses and royalties over time, but the amount depends on market conditions and bid levels; shorter review timelines could increase near-term receipts but raise litigation risk that can delay revenue realization.
Legal and administrative systems: The limitations on executive authority and prescriptive statutory deadlines increase the likelihood of litigation about statutory interpretation, administrative procedure, and constitutional separation-of-powers questions, which could slow or alter implementation.
Overall effect: The legislation shifts federal leasing policy toward predictability and expansion of lease sales, benefiting industry access and potentially federal revenues, while reducing agency flexibility and raising environmental, local community, and legal challenges.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced February 6, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress February 6, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate