The program proposes to establish a schedule of oil and gas lease sales proposed for planning areas of the OCS. Many steps are involved before an area is included in a five-year program and eventually proposed for leasing, as required by Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The public is provided with a number of opportunities to comment on the proposed activity as well as on the Environmental Impact Statement prepared for a five-year program — as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
A new program covering the years 2017 to 2022 is under development. The first step in the development process, a Request for Information (RFI), was published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2014. On Jan. 27, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) for a 2017-2022 program. The DPP includes eight planning areas — three in the Gulf of Mexico, two in the Atlantic, and three in Alaska — and nearly 80 percent of estimated undiscovered technically available oil and gas resources in the OCS. The DPP schedules 14 potential lease sales in those areas for the 2017–2022 period in eight program areas — 10 sales in the Gulf of Mexico, one in the Atlantic (which would cover portions of two planning areas) and three off the coast of Alaska.
To comment on the proposal, visit the regulations.gov website.
Download the Draft Proposed Program here [PDF].
