January 16, 2025
Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Tuberville) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Offshore Energy Security Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Offshore oil and gas lease sales
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Offshore lease sale
The term offshore lease sale means an oil and gas lease sale—
(A)
that is held by the Secretary in accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), notwithstanding the requirements of section 18 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1344);
(B)
offers the same lease form, lease terms, economic conditions, and stipulations as contained in the final notice of sale entitled Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261
(88 Fed. Reg. 80750 (November 20, 2023)); and
(C)
that, if any acceptable bids have been received for any tract offered in the lease sale, results in the issuance of leases within 90 days of the sale to the highest bids on the tracts offered, subject to the procedures for determining bid adequacy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, effective March 8, 2016, with respect to—
(i)
Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 241; and
(ii)
Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 226.
(2) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) Waiver
The Secretary may waive any other requirements under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) that would delay final approval of an offshore lease sale under subsection (c).
(c) Requirement
Notwithstanding the 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, the Secretary shall—
(1)
conduct not fewer than 20 offshore lease sales, as described under subsection (d), during the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2)
to the maximum extent practicable, carry out a lease sale under this subsection in accordance with the Record of Decision approved by the Secretary on January 17, 2017, and described in the notice of availability of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management entitled Record of Decision for the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement; MMAA104000
(82 Fed. Reg. 6643 (January 19, 2017)).
(d) Timing
In conducting the offshore lease sales under subsection (c), the Secretary shall conduct a lease sale under this section not later than each of the following dates:
(1)
March 31, 2026.
(2)
August 31, 2026.
(3)
March 31, 2027.
(4)
August 31, 2027.
(5)
March 31, 2028.
(6)
August 31, 2028.
(7)
March 31, 2029.
(8)
August 31, 2029.
(9)
March 31, 2030.
(10)
August 31, 2030.
(11)
March 31, 2031.
(12)
August 31, 2031.
(13)
March 31, 2032.
(14)
August 31, 2032.
(15)
March 31, 2033.
(16)
August 31, 2033.
(17)
March 31, 2034.
(18)
August 31, 2034.
(19)
March 31, 2035.
(20)
August 31, 2035.
(e) Area offered for lease
(1) Acreage
The Secretary shall offer not fewer than 74,000,000 acres for each offshore lease sale conducted under subsection (c).
(2) Location
An offshore lease sale conducted under subsection (c) shall be in the Gulf of Mexico Region Program Area as identified in Figure S–1 of the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program published on November 18, 2016 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (as announced in the notice of availability of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management entitled Notice of Availability of the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (81 Fed. Reg. 84612 (November 23, 2016)))
.
(f) Effect of litigation
(1) In general
A civil action relating to an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an offshore lease sale conducted under this section shall not—
(A)
affect the validity of a lease issued under the offshore lease sale that is the subject of the civil action; or
(B)
except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), cause a delay in the timelines for the consideration of an application for permit to drill with respect to a lease issued under the offshore lease sale that is the subject of the civil action.
(2) Remand; processing of applications for permit to drill
If, in a civil action described in paragraph (1), the environmental review for an offshore lease sale is found by the applicable court to violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)—
(A)
notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Procedures Act
), the applicable court shall not set aside the offshore lease sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to the sale but instead remand the matter to the Secretary to resolve the violation; and
(B)
the Secretary shall continue to process all applicable applications for permit to drill in accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
(3) Notice
(A) In general
Not later than 60 days after the date on which a civil action described in paragraph (1) is filed, the Secretary shall notify the holder of any lease issued under the lease sale that is the subject of the civil action of the filing of the civil action.
(B) Timeline
Not later than 90 days after the date of receipt of a notice under subparagraph (A), the holder of the lease may file with the Secretary, and the Secretary may approve, a request to pause the timeline with respect to the term of the lease during any period in which the civil action is pending.
(g) Moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Section 104 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking June 30, 2022
and inserting December 31, 2035
;
(B)
in paragraph (2), by striking or
after the semicolon;
(C)
in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(D)
by adding at the end the following:
(4)
any area in the South Atlantic Planning Area (as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as of the date of enactment of this paragraph); or
(5)
any area in the Straits of Florida Planning Area (as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as of the date of enactment of this paragraph).; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(d) Effect on certain leases
The moratoria under subsection (a) shall not affect valid existing leases in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection.
(e) Environmental exceptions
Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may issue leases in areas described in that subsection for environmental conservation purposes, including the purposes of shore protection, beach nourishment and restoration, wetlands restoration, and habitat protection.