The moves are part of the administration’s effort to bolster domestic energy production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
The Department of the Interior announced on Nov. 7 two major steps to expand offshore oil and gas leasing under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, unveiling plans for the first lease sale in the Gulf of America and another proposed auction in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
The measures mark the start of a schedule of 30 offshore sales in the Gulf of America and six in Alaska, part of what the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) described as the Trump administration’s effort to “unleash American energy dominance” and cement the United States’ position as a global energy powerhouse.
“President Trump’s signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act marked the beginning of a new chapter for oil and gas development in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet,” BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said in the statement.
“BOEM is now moving forward with a predictable, congressionally mandated leasing schedule that will support offshore oil and gas development for decades to come.”
80 Million Acres in the Gulf of America
The first sale—officially titled Big Beautiful Gulf 1—will open roughly 80 million acres across the Gulf of America for leasing. The area spans approximately 160 million acres, containing an estimated 29.6 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 54.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The Interior Department said the sale advances the president’s goal of boosting domestic energy output and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers, while fulfilling the directives outlined in Trump’s executive order “Unleashing American Energy.”
To attract participation, BOEM set a 12.5 percent royalty rate—the lowest permitted by statute—for both shallow- and deep-water leases. Certain environmentally sensitive or legally restricted zones, including the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and blocks beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, will remain off-limits.
By Tom Ozimek
