The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has sought public input on potential lease sales offshore California and a potential minerals lease sale offshore Alaska.
On 26 January, BOEM requested industry nominations and public comments on potential offshore oil and gas leasing areas in Southern California and Central California. These two Calls for Information and Nominations cover areas included in the Department of the Interior’s draft 11th National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2026–2031, announced on 20 November 2025.
Issuing a call for comments is the first step in the lease sale process.
The current calls for comments cover the Southern California planning area and Central California planning area. The first sale in each case is tentatively scheduled for 2027, but BOEM said issuing the calls does not constitute a decision to hold a lease sale, nor does it preclude areas from being removed from future consideration.
In a news release, BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said the calls “begin a careful analysis of two key areas with promising resource potential on the Outer Continental Shelf to help guide future decisions about potential leasing and development.”
Feedback for the Central California and the Southern California calls for information is due on 26 February. BOEM is seeking input from the public, tribal governments, and other interested stakeholders on environmental conditions, socioeconomic considerations, and other relevant factors.
According to BOEM, the comments will inform the pre-sale steps required to hold a lease sale, assuming the sale remains in the final proposed national leasing program.
The most recent lease sale in the US Gulf of Mexico in December 2025 drew $279.4 million in apparent high bids.
Minerals Offshore Alaska
On 27 January, BOEM announced it would issue a request for information so it could gauge interest in seabed minerals other than oil, gas, and sulfur in the federal waters offshore Alaska.
The request for information, which will be published in the Federal Register on 29 January, opens a 30-day window for input, allowing the public, companies, governments, Alaska Native tribes, and other organizations to submit information about potential lease areas, uses and conflicts, and other factors that could inform BOEM’s planning. Among other items, BOEM seeks input on minerals of interest, potential tract configurations, and interactions with other ocean uses.
The request for information covers the entire Alaska OCS, and BOEM will use the responses to help narrow and define areas for further analysis. BOEM said the request is an early step in the bureau’s leasing process and is not a decision to hold a sale.
Comments are due on 2 March.
If BOEM receives indications of interest and moves foreward, it will will follow its minerals leasing regulations, including identifying potential lease areas, conducting environmental analyses, issuing a proposed lease sale notice at least 60 days in advance, and publishing the final lease sale notice at least 30 days before any sale. BOEM would then evaluate bids under its competitive cash-bonus procedures.