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-Editorial
The Department of the Interior announced a new Secretary’s Order titled “Unleashing American Offshore Energy,” directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to begin the process of terminating the Biden administration’s 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program and replacing it with a more expansive version by October 2026.
As part of the directive, the department released its Draft Proposed Program for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Interior officials said the move is intended to advance the Trump administration’s energy agenda and reverse what they described as restrictive leasing actions under the previous administration.
“Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. He criticized the Biden-era program and said the new approach would support offshore production, energy security, and employment.
The draft proposal for the 2026–2031 leasing program outlines as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of the 27 Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, covering about 1.27 billion acres. The areas include 21 regions in Alaska, seven in the Gulf of America, and six along the Pacific coast. The proposal also creates a new administrative planning area, the South-Central Gulf of America.
Jarrod Agen, executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, said the updated program would provide companies with long-term policy stability. “By putting a real leasing plan back on track, we’re restoring energy security, protecting American jobs, and strengthening the nation’s ability to lead on energy for decades to come,” he said.
The action implements Executive Order 14154 and supplements Secretary’s Order 3418, which directs Interior agencies to accelerate energy development consistent with federal law. The department said the revised program would promote offshore investment, job creation, and a stable domestic energy supply.
Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Interior must develop a national program that identifies the size, timing, and location of potential lease sales while weighing economic, environmental, and social considerations. The department said the current proposal reflects feedback from more than 86,000 public comments submitted after a request for information in April.
A 60-day public comment period will begin when the proposal is published in the Federal Register on Nov. 24. Additional opportunities for input will occur before the program and individual lease sales are finalized.
As of Sept. 1, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management oversees 2,073 active offshore oil and gas leases covering about 11.2 million acres. Offshore production accounts for roughly 15 percent of U.S. oil output. Federal estimates indicate the Outer Continental Shelf contains 68.8 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 229 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the draft plan, arguing it would threaten coastal communities and natural resources. “California takes our responsibility to steward our environment and natural resources seriously — we are not a rich man’s playground, and the President cannot come and extract resources as he pleases,” Bonta said. He added that the state “will not stand by” as the federal government seeks to expand offshore drilling.
Bonta noted that in June he joined a coalition of states in opposing additional offshore leasing in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, arguing that domestic oil and gas supplies are already abundant and that demand for gasoline has declined in recent years.
The coalition’s letter to federal officials asserted that expanding offshore drilling would pose unnecessary risks to marine ecosystems and coastal economies that rely on tourism, fishing, and recreation.
