BOEM advances ‘Big Beautiful Gulf 2’ lease sale

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced what it describes as “another major step toward expanding offshore energy development pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

On Feb. 4, BOEM released the Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) for Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 2 (BBG2), the second of 30 Gulf of America lease sales required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

BOEM will again invite lease sale bidders to attend the live bid reading, per BOEM instructions, on March 11, 2026, starting at 9 a.m. Central Time. The general public can view the live bid opening via live stream at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/big-beautiful-gulf-2-bbg2-oil-gas-lease-sale.

Lease Sale BBG2 proposes to offer approximately 15,066 unleased blocks covering about 80.4 million acres on the US Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of America. The blocks are located 3 to 231 miles offshore, spanning water depths from 9 feet to more than 11,100 feet.  

Certain areas will be excluded from the sale, including blocks subject to the Sept. 8, 2020, presidential withdrawal; blocks adjacent to or beyond the US Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Gap; blocks within the boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary; any block which received a bid in Lease Sale BBG1.  

More information, including the FNOS package and a detailed map of the proposed lease sale area, is available at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/big-beautiful-gulf-2-bbg2-oil-gas-lease-sale.