What's New?
BOEM completed area identification, which determines the specific areas on the Outer Continental Shelf that will undergo environmental review of proposed commercial leases for critical minerals in the form of an environmental assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
The environmental assessment will analyze the action of leasing and authorization of preliminary activities. Preliminary activities are defined as actions that have no significant adverse impact on natural resources and only allow a leaseholder to characterize the environment. This environmental review will include necessary consultations under environmental and other statutes including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
- Area ID Decision Memo, Associated Maps & Supporting Information
- American Samoa Area ID Block and Aliquot List
- American Samoa Area ID GIS Data
What to expect here: This page will post plain-language updates at each step, including key dates and links to source documents.
BOEM's Regulatory Pathway for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Minerals Leasing For American Samoa
Request for Information and Interest
Published in the Federal Register.
Identification of Areas
Based on interest received during the RFI, BOEM announces areas to be considered for potential leasing
Environmental Analysis
BOEM’s scientists and other environmental specialists analyze the potential environmental impacts of a minerals lease sale encompassing the identified areas.
Proposed Leasing Notice
Published in the Federal Register.
Leasing Notice
Published in the Federal Register.
Competitive Lease Sale
BOEM evaluates bids and may award leases
2025 - 2026 Chronology
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Nov. 10, 2025 | Update: BOEM announced the completion of Area Identification, or Area ID, for potential critical minerals leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore American Samoa. The Area ID defines specific areas that will undergo further environmental analysis to assess their suitability for possible leasing. |
| June 16, 2025 | Update: The Request for Information and Interest referenced below is published in the Federal Register. This publication initiated a 30-day public comment period. On Tuesday, July 15, BOEM extended the comment period until 11:59 p.m. ET on August 15 in response to a request from the Governor of American Samoa. Comments can be viewed on the Regulations.gov docked at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/BOEM-2025-0035-0001/comment. See June 12 entry for RFI details. |
| June 12, 2025 | Update: On June 12, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced its intent to publish a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) for commercial leasing for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seabed critical minerals offshore American Samoa. The RFI published in the Federal Register on Monday, June 16, 2025, which initiated a 30-day public comment period. |
| Feb 3, 2025 | The Secretary of the Interior publishes Secretarial Order 3417, “Addressing the National Energy Emergency.” Among other stipulations, the order states: All Bureaus and Offices of the Department of the Interior … will identify the emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other legal authorities, to facilitate the identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting, and generation of domestic energy resources and critical minerals including, but not limited to, on Federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf. |
Environmental Studies
BOEM funds numerous environmental studies that collect information about the marine environment to support future decisions concerning potential OCS minerals leasing and development. For more information, please visit https://www.boem.gov/environment/environmental-studies-pacific.
Some examples of current BOEM-funded studies related to seabed minerals in American Samoa include:
- NT-21-01: Facilitating Interagency Partnerships in Support of Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization. In September 2024, BOEM partnered with NOAA, USGS, and the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute on an expedition to explore abyssal habitats in the eastern portion of the American Samoa EEZ
- PC-22-07b: Maritime Heritage of the U.S. Pacific Islands, led by East Carolina University
Related Press Releases
- BOEM Advances Offshore Minerals Planning Efforts in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (11/10/2025)
- BOEM Extends Public Comment Period on Request for Information and Interest on Potential Minerals Lease Sale Offshore American Samoa (07/16/2025)
- Interior Initiates First Step for Potential Mineral Lease Sale Offshore American Samoa (06/12/2025)
- Interior Launches Process for Potential Offshore Mineral Lease Sale Near American Samoa | U.S. Department of the Interior (05/20/2025)
Resources
- Discovering Offshore Critical Mineral Resources in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (BOEM’s Pacific critical minerals webpage)
- BOEM Critical Minerals (BOEM’s national critical minerals webpage)
- BOEM Resource Evaluation of Critical and Hard Offshore Mineral Programmatic Reference (RECHOMPR) (October 2023)
Click on the thumbnail below to view prospectus seabed mineral regions in the Pacific through the USGS viewer.
