Trump Announces 30+ Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales

The administration of Donald Trump announced a long-term offshore oil and gas leasing schedule for Alaska's Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico, which the president has renamed the Gulf of America. Mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the plan includes 30 auctions in the Gulf of America through 2040, with the first sale, Big Beautiful Gulf 1, scheduled for December 10, 2025. The schedule provides for two annual sales from 2026 through 2039 and a final sale in 2040.

In Alaska's Cook Inlet, the government will conduct six lease sales through 2032, beginning in March 2026. This strategy reverses the Biden administration's approach, which limited leasing to three sales over five years to address climate change. To support coastal protection and infrastructure in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, the United States Department of the Interior also increased the annual revenue-sharing cap for Gulf of America energy revenues from $500 million to $650 million for fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

Industry representatives, including the National Ocean Industries Association, praised the move for providing investment certainty. However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration warned that falling Brent crude prices might discourage bidding and could lead to a decline in total U.S. oil production by late 2026.