What is the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management?
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is an agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) responsible for managing development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf energy, mineral, and geological resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way.
What is the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)?
The OCS is all submerged lands lying seaward of state coastal waters which are under U.S. jurisdiction.
What is the OCS Lands Act?
The OCS Lands Act assigns the Secretary of the Interior the responsibility for the administration of mineral exploration and development of the OCS. The Act empowers the Secretary to grant leases to the highest qualified responsible bidder on the basis of sealed competitive bids and to formulate regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. The Act, as amended, provides guidelines for implementing an OCS oil and gas exploration and development program.
What is the process for leasing OCS oil and gas?
BOEM has oversight responsibility on oil and gas leasing activities within the OCS. Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a five-year oil and gas leasing program (5-Year Program) that consists of a five-year schedule of proposed lease sales that shows the size, timing, and location of leasing activity as precisely as possible. The process to develop a 5-Year Program includes: three separate comment periods, two separate draft proposals, a final proposal. This statutorily mandated process usually takes about two and a half years. After the Secretary of the Interior approves the Proposed Final Program, BOEM sends it to Congress. If Congress does not pass legislation to modify the proposal within 60 days, the 5-Year Program becomes final. View the Leasing 101 Guide. The current OCS oil and gas leasing statistics are updated and posted monthly in a Combined Leasing Status Report.
What are exploration plans and development plans?
The OCS Lands Act gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to grant leases for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas on the OCS.
An exploration plan (EP) and its supporting information must be submitted for BOEM approval before an operator (the company assigned by the lessee) may begin exploratory drilling on a lease. The EP sets out how the operator will explore the lease and describes all exploration activities planned by the operator, the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling, the location of each well, and other relevant information.
If the operator completes its exploration and discovers oil and/or natural gas, it must come to BOEM with a plan on how it is going to develop the prospect. This development plan will include how many wells and where these wells will be located, what type of structure will be used, and how it will get the oil and natural gas to shore.
Track the status of Gulf of America Plans.
What mandate does BOEM have for renewable energy?
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) authorized BOEM to issue leases, easements and rights of way to allow for renewable energy development on the OCS. EPAct provided a general framework for BOEM to follow when authorizing these renewable energy activities. For example, EPAct requires that BOEM coordinate with relevant Federal agencies and affected state and local governments, obtain fair return for leases and grants issued, and ensure that renewable energy development takes place in a responsible manner.
In 2009, the Department of the Interior announced the regulations governing BOEM's OCS Renewable Energy Program. These regulations provide a detailed structure to govern how BOEM manages its Renewable Energy Program, ensure that BOEM meets its statutory obligations, and provide both certainty and flexibility for overseeing the nascent offshore renewable energy industry.
In 2024, the Department of the Interior announced updated regulations for clean energy development on the U.S. The final rule increases certainty and reduces the costs associated with the deployment of offshore wind projects by modernizing regulations, streamlining overly complex processes and removing unnecessary ones, clarifying ambiguous regulatory provisions, and enhancing compliance requirements.
For more information, go to https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/regulatory-framework-and-guidelines.
What mandate does BOEM have for marine minerals development?
The OCS Lands Act provides BOEM the authority to manage minerals, such as sand and gravel used for coastal restoration. BOEM also identifies and oversees critical minerals found on the seafloor. BOEM is the only federal agency with the authority to lease marine minerals from the OCS. For more information, go to: https://www.boem.gov/marine-minerals.
What is BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program, and what does it do?
BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program (ESP) develops, funds, and manages rigorous scientific research specifically to establish information needed for assessing and managing environmental impacts of energy and mineral development on the human, marine, and coastal environments. Mandated by the OCS Lands Act, the ESP is an indispensable requirement informing how BOEM manages offshore oil and gas, offshore renewable energy, and the marine minerals program for coastal restoration.