On November 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) published its Notice of Availability of the 1st Analysis and Proposal of the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (11th OCS Program), opening up a statutorily required 60-day public review and comment period on the DPP in order to assist the Secretary of Interior in its determination of which areas to include in the final, approved program. In furtherance of the ongoing implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14154, entitled “Unleashing American Energy,” the DPP (i) is the second of five steps in the Federal government’s process of developing a new five-year plan for holding offshore oil and gas lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), consistent with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1331, et seq., and (ii) once approved, is expected to terminate and replace the 10th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (10th OCS Program) promulgated under the Biden administration, which is ongoing and currently set to expire on June 30, 2029. As proposed, the DPP covers acreage in the Alaska, Gulf of America, and Pacific Regions of the OCS and aims to make more than 85% of the estimated technically recoverable OCS oil and gas resources available for sale during the five-year period following approval of the 11th OCS Program. Pursuant to the DPP, “Inclusion of an area in [the DPP] is not a final indication that it will be included in the approved 11th [OCS] Program, or offered in a lease sale, because additional decision points remain to potentially reduce or completely remove an area or sale.”
Unlike prior National Leasing Programs, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) plans to prepare an environmental analysis outside of the typical programmatic environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the 11th OCS Program (instead BOEM will prepare NEPA review on a lease basis pursuant to an environmental assessment, environmental impact statement, or determination of NEPA adequacy). Additionally, the 11th OCS Program would be the first implemented program to cover the areas within BOEM’s new jurisdictional limits, as revised by DOI on April 30, 2025, which increased the number of planning areas from 26 to 27, but decreased the total acreage offered from approximately 1.72 billion acres to 1.68 billion acres. As currently proposed, the DPP for the 11th OCS Program comprises 21 of the 27 the planning areas, consisting of 1.27 billion acres, and proposes the following lease sale schedule:
| No. | Sale Year | OCS Region | Program Area |
| 1 | 2026 | Alaska | Beaufort Sea Program Area |
| 2 | 2027 | Pacific | Southern California Program Area |
| 3 | 2027 | Pacific | Central California Program Area |
| 4 | 2027 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area A |
| 5 | 2027 | Alaska | Cook Inlet Program Area |
| 6 | 2028 | Alaska | Chukchi Sea Program Area |
| 7 | 2028 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area A |
| 8 | 2028 | Alaska | Cook Inlet Program Area |
| 9 | 2029 | Pacific | Southern California Program Area |
| 10 | 2029 | Pacific | Northern California Program Area |
| 11 | 2029 | Pacific | Central California Program Area |
| 12 | 2029 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area A |
| 13 | 2029 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area B |
| 14 | 2029 | Alaska | Cook Inlet Program Area |
| 15 | 2030 | Alaska | Gulf of Alaska Program Area |
| 16 | 2030 | Alaska | Shumagin Program Area |
| 17 | 2030 | Alaska | Kodiak Program Area |
| 18 | 2030 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area B |
| 19 | 2030 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area A |
| 20 | 2030 | Alaska | Cook Inlet Program A |
| 21 | 2030 | Pacific | Southern California Program Area |
| 22 | 2030 | Alaska | Chukchi Sea Program Area |
| 23 | 2030 | Alaska | Beaufort Sea Program Area |
| 24 | 2030 | Alaska | Hope Basin Program Area |
| 25 | 2030 | Alaska | Norton Basin Program Area |
| 26 | 2030 | Alaska | Navarin Basin Program Area |
| 27 | 2030 | Alaska | St. George Basin Program Area |
| 28 | 2030 | Alaska | High Arctic Program Area |
| 29 | 2031 | Gulf of America | GOA Program Area A |
| 30 | 2031 | Alaska | Cook Inlet Basin Program Area |
| 31 | 2031 | Alaska | Aleutian Basin Program Area |
| 32 | 2031 | Alaska | Aleutian Arc Program Area |
| 33 | 2031 | Alaska | Bowers Basin Program Area |
| 34 | 2031 | Alaska | St. Matthew-Hall Program Area |
Notably, the DPP proposes leasing acreage in the Central, Northern, and Southern California Planning Areas, which have not been offered for lease in over forty years. The DPP also reflects the Secretary of Interior’s intent to (i) make available for leasing a newly created South-Central GOA Planning Area, designated on the table above, as GOA Program Area B, which is located in the southwestern portion of the current Eastern GOA Planning Area and, (ii) remove the remaining Eastern GOA Planning Area from further leasing under the 11th OCS Program.
Below is a comparison of the 11th OCS Program, as currently proposed, on the four OCS Regions versus the 10th OCS Program’s impact on these same regions:
Atlantic Region
As of September 1, 2025, there were no active leases in the Atlantic Region. The last sale of acreage located in the Atlantic Region took place on July 26, 1983, and offered 3,582 tracts (approximately 20.15 million acres) in the Southern Atlantic, with 11 tracts (approximately 62.62 thousand acres) being awarded pursuant to the sale. The 10th OCS Program does not include any planned lease sales in the Atlantic Region.
The DPP for the 11th OCS Program, as currently proposed, does not plan to offer for sale any acreage in the Atlantic Region.
Alaska Region
As of September 1, 2025, there were 11 active leases in the Alaska Region (approximately 55.97 thousand acres), 3 of which are actively producing (approximately 10.42 thousand acres). The last sale of acreage located in the Alaska Region took place on December 30, 2022, and offered 193 tracts (approximately 958.20 thousand acres) in the Cook Inlet, with 1 tract (approximately 5.69 thousand acres) being awarded pursuant to the sale. The 10th OCS Program does not include any planned lease sales in the Alaska Region.
The DPP for the 11th OCS Program, as currently proposed, plans to hold 21 lease sales in the Alaska Region.
Gulf of America Region
As of September 1, 2025, there were 2,032 active leases in the Gulf of America Region (approximately 11.03 million acres), 404 of which are actively producing (approximately 2.05 million acres). The last sale of acreage located in the Gulf of America Region took place on December 20, 2023, and offered 13,530 tracts (approximately 72.74 million acres), with 299 tracts (approximately 1.65 million acres) being awarded pursuant to the sale. The 10th OCS Program includes 3 lease sales covering acreage in the Gulf of America Region.
The DPP for the 11th OCS Program, as currently proposed, plans to hold 7 lease sales in the Gulf of America Region.
Pacific Region
As of September 1, 2025, there were 30 active leases in the Pacific Region (approximately 152.57 thousand acres), all of which are actively producing leases. The last sale of acreage located in the Pacific Region took place on October 17, 1984, and offered 657 tracts (approximately 3.14 million acres) offshore Southern California, with 23 tracts (approximately 114.36 thousand acres) being awarded pursuant to the sale. The 10th OCS Program does not include any planned lease sales in the Pacific Region.
The DPP for the 11th OCS Program, as currently proposed, plans to hold 6 lease sales in the Pacific Region.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The 11th OCS Program will run concurrently with the lease sales planned under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). OBBBA mandates a minimum of 30 oil and gas lease sales covering the Gulf of America Region through March 15, 2040 (with no fewer than 1 sale in 2025, 2 sales annually for the years 2026 through 2039, and 1 sale in 2024) and 6 lease sales covering the Alaska Region through March 15, 2032 (with no fewer than 1 sale annually for the years 2026 through 2028 and 2030 through 2032). These legislatively mandated lease sales are separate from the discretionary lease sales proposed in the DPP for the 11th OCS Program.
Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1 (BBG1)
The 10th OCS Program was set to hold Lease Sale No. 262, which is the first of the 3 planned sales in the Gulf of America Region under that program. Lease Sale No. 262 has now been deferred, with the Big Beautiful Gulf 1 Oil & Gas Lease Sale (BBG1) replacing it as part of OBBBA. BBG1 is set to occur on December 10, 2025, the first of the minimum 30 planned sales in that region. Recently, on November 18, 2025, environmental groups filed suit against BOEM and DOI in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Allegations against the agencies include (i) the failure to conduct a necessary environmental review when finalizing BBG1, in violation of NEPA, and (ii) improper involvement of an agency official, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs seek to vacate the Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) for BBG1, and to vacate or enjoin any leases that may be issued or actions taken pursuant to BBG1. As of this post, BOEM is still moving forward with BBG1.
Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 2 (BBG2)
On November 20, 2025, BOEM published its Proposed Notice of Sale (NOS) for Big Beautiful Gulf 2 Oil & Gas Lease Sale (BBG2), which proposes to offer for leasing approximately 15,000 unleased OCS blocks located in Gulf of America, all, regardless of depth, at the lowest allowable federal offshore royalty rate of 12.5%. BBG2 is proposed to take place on March 11, 2026, and will be the second of the 30 minimum oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America Region called for under the OBBBA. Leases covering OCS blocks in depths less than 800 meters are to have primary terms of five years, while those covering blocks in depths of 800 meters or greater are to have primary terms of ten years. Additionally, BBG2 will utilize the BOEM-2005 (February 2017) lease form, which includes updates to lease stipulations 1, 2, 3, and 10 contained in the FNOS for Lease Sale 254, with lease stipulations 4 through 9 being unchanged. Finally, the NOS for BBG2 calls for the FNOS to be published in the Federal Register at lease thirty days prior to the date of the opening of the bids.
For more information regarding the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program and the 11th OCS Program, please visit https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/national-program/national-ocs-oil-and-gas-leasing-program.
For more information on BBG2, please visit https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/big-beautiful-gulf-2-bbg2-oil-gas-lease-sale