Offshore oil rig drilling platform in the gulf

Lease Sale 259

Lease Sale 259 was held on March 29, 2023.

What’s New?

On February 24, 2026, BOEM announced a Record of Decision reaffirming its prior decisions regarding Gulf of America’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sales 259 and 261. This ROD supports BOEM’s continued commitment to responsible offshore energy development strengthening environmental safeguards and legal compliance.

This decision follows the August 29, 2025, publication of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Gulf of America Regional OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales and Post-Lease Activities. The Programmatic EIS provides a comprehensive framework for future environmental review of post-lease plans, permits, and site-specific activities. It will help ensure consistency and efficiency in future National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, evaluations across the Gulf region.

Environment

Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

Final Bid Recap

Sale-259-Final-Bid-Recap (264.5 KB) (July 17, 2023)

Bid Evaluation Results

Lease Sale 259 Phase 2 Decision Matrix (182.84 KB) (July 14, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (56.45 KB) (June 26, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (87.29 KB) (June 22, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (51.18 KB) (June 15, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (45.35 KB) (June 1, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptance (21.35 KB) (June 7, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (87.46 KB) (May 25, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (23.36 KB) (April 14, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (117.11 KB) (April 27, 2023)

Phase 2 Acceptances (46.41 KB) (May 18, 2023)

Sale Video

BOEM Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259

Notification of EFT 1/5 Bonus Liability

Sale 259 Notification of EFT (104.92 KB) (March 29, 2023)

Sale Statistics

The documents below contain statistical information specific to Sale 259 held on March 29, 2023. The reports organize the data in several different ways.

Sale Statistics - Includes general summary information on sale bids.

Preliminary Bid Recap by Area & Block for All Bids (Report 1) - Includes complete information on all blocks that received bids. A final bid recap which includes bid acceptance and rejection results will be posted approximately three months after sale day.

High Bids Ranked by Bid Amount (Report 4) - Includes information on all high bids in ranked order.

Analysis of Bids by Company - Includes information on all bids by all companies.

Summaries of Company Bids (Report 6) - Includes bidding information by companies. The four reports are sorted by company as follows:

Sale 259 ZIP - This file displays bid information on acreage, royalty rates, and companies participating in this sale. It contains five fixed format, ASCII data files of tract, bid, and company data as well as a text file which shows the record layouts.

Lease Sale Map - Bid Distribution

Lease Sale Map – Bid Distribution (March 29, 2023): PDF file | Zipped postscript file* | ARCGIS Online Interactive Map

Active Leases and Bids Received Map (March 29, 2023): PDF file | Zipped postscript file* | ARCGIS Online Interactive Map

*Note: This is an encapsulated Postscript plot file generated by ArcView. WinZip 8.1 was used to compress this file. Please read our disclaimer prior to downloading files.

Blocks Receiving Bids

Blocks Receiving Bids (March 29, 2023)
Blocks Receiving Bids - ASCII file

Note: This file contains the two letter area identifier, block number, and number of bids received on that block. Please read our disclaimer prior to downloading files.

Miscellaneous Presale Statistics

Sale 259 Miscellaneous Presale Statistics (40.24 KB) (March 28, 2023)

Final Notice of Sale

*****NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS*****

Updated 03/10 List of Blocks Available for Leasing (pdf file or zipped ASCII file)
Unleased Split Blocks and Available Unleased Acreage of Blocks and Irregular Portions

GDIS Information:

Example of Preferred Format includes:
1. Geophysical Data and Information Statement (GDIS),
2. Example of GDIS Spreadsheet, Table Definitions and Envelope,
3. Submittal of Reprocessed Data Survey Map, and
4. Example of Live Trace Map and Submission Instructions

Blank GDIS Excel Spreadsheet
For Potential Bidders - Provided for your reference and suggested use is a blank digital copy of the GDIS table, in Excel format, which you may download, complete and submit along with the GDIS and your bid.
Question and Answer section for the GDIS

Bidder Information:

Sale Maps:

Lease Terms and Economic Conditions
(pdf file or zipped postscript file or ARCGIS Online Interactive Map)
Stipulations and Deferred Blocks
(pdf file or zipped postscript file or ARCGIS Online Interactive Map)

News Releases

Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale Results Announced (March 29, 2023)

BOEM Publishes Final Notice of Sale for Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale (February 24, 2023)

BOEM Issues Final Environmental Analysis for Upcoming Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sales (January 9, 2023)

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Announces Next Steps for Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales Directed by Inflation Reduction Act (October 20, 2022)

BOEM Seeks Comments on Environmental Analysis For Upcoming Gulf Of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sales (October 7, 2022)

Instructions for Making EFT Bonus Payments

Sale-259-EFT-Instructions-for-Making-EFT-Bonus-Payments.pdf (334.99 KB) (December 2019)

Proposed Notice of Sale Package

Proposed Notice of Sale Package

Proposed NOS 259
Proposed NOS 259 Information to Lessees
Lease Stipulations for Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259
Example of Preferred Format: Geophysical Data and Information Statement and Sample Envelope
Blank GDIS Excel Spreadsheet
For Potential Bidders - Provided for your reference and suggested use is a blank digital copy of the GDIS table, in Excel format, which you may download, complete and submit along with the GDIS and your bid.
Question and Answer section for the GDIS
Bid Form and Envelope
Companies bidding on blocks that are divided by the Central/Eastern Planning area boundary (specifically those blocks that are in DeSoto Canyon (Map number NH16-11), Lloyd Ridge (Map number NG16-02) and Henderson (Map number NG16-05 ) in the official protraction diagrams) shall provide the acreage as described in the List of Available Blocks by Planning Area noted on the bid and the bid envelope.
Sale Maps
- Lease Terms and Economic Conditions (pdf file) or (zipped postscript file*)
- Stipulations and Deferred Blocks (pdf file) or (zipped postscript file*)
  
  *Note: These are enhanced Postscript plot files generated by ArcGIS. They can be plotted locally. Version 19.0 of WINZIP was used to compress these files.