The Trump administration has announced two oil and gas lease sales, one in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the final notice of sale for one Gulf sale, named Big Beautiful Gulf 1. The organisation only released a proposed notice of sale for the Alaska one, named Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1.
The Gulf lease sale will make roughly 80m acres (around 323,748 sq km) available for leasing across the Gulf of Mexico. This sale is the first of 30 Gulf of Mexico lease sales mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The sale will take place on December 10.
The US part of the Gulf of Mexico spans roughly 160m acres, with an estimated 29.59bn barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, as well as 54.84 tcf of natural gas.
BOEM’s proposed notice of sale is for 1m acres of Alaska’s Cook Inlet. This is the first of at least six such lease sales required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The sales are scheduled annually from 2026 to 2028, and from 2030 to 2032.
A final notice of sale for the Cook Inlet will be announced at least 30 days before the scheduled lease sale on March 4, 2026.
To encourage strong industry participation, BOEM has set a 12.5% royalty rate, the lowest rate permitted, for both shallow and deepwater leases.
“BOEM is now moving forward with a predictable, congressionally mandated leasing schedule that will support offshore oil and gas development for decades to come,” said BOEM acting director Matt Giacona.
