On 7 November 2025, BOEM released the Final Notice of Sale for the lease auction dubbed Big Beautiful Gulf 1 (BBG1). This sale will open bids on 10 December 2025, offering roughly 80 million acres across the U.S. Gulf of America’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas companies. That acreage covers unleased areas from near-shore to deepwater zones, ranging from three to over 3,400 meters depth. Officials say BBG1 launches the first of at least 30 Gulf lease sales mandated under the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
As BBG1 opens, the U.S. enters a long-term phase of aggressive offshore leasing, with implications for energy production, regional employment, marine policy, and environmental oversight.
What Big Beautiful Gulf 1 Lease Sale includes
BBG1 makes available a massive block of unleased acreage — about 80 million acres — across the Gulf’s Western, Central, and Eastern planning regions. That includes roughly 15,083 unleased blocks located 3–231 miles offshore, with water depths spanning from shallow continental-shelf zones to ultra-deep basins beyond 11,100 feet. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management+1
Importantly, not all areas are open. BOEM excludes legacy blocks previously withdrawn under the 2020 presidential withdrawal, parts of the Eastern Gap outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, and the environmentally sensitive Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
To encourage broad industry participation, BOEM set a royalty rate of 12.5% — the minimum permitted by statute — for both shallow- and deepwater leases. That rate aims to make Gulf projects competitive compared to onshore or international alternatives.
Legally, BBG1 proceeds under the OBBBA (Public Law 119-21)
This law directs the federal government to conduct at least 30 lease sales in the Gulf of America and six in Alaska’s Cook Inlet by 2040 — a sweeping program that reshapes the timeline of U.S. offshore development.
After BBG1, the schedule already lists a second Gulf sale (BBG2) for 11 March 2026, followed by regular auctions roughly twice each year — one in early spring, another in late summer.
Why BOEM and the government push this sale now
BOEM frames BBG1 and the wider program under OBBBA as a response to rising global energy demands, a need for stable domestic production, and as part of a broader energy-security strategy. Acting Director Matt Giacona said the sale delivers on a predictable leasing schedule, supports long-term offshore investments and helps ensure “American energy dominance.”
Proponents argue that the Gulf remains one of the most proven and cost-effective offshore petroleum provinces globally
According to BOEM estimates, the Gulf’s OCS may hold as much as 29.59 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — potential reserves waiting for development under renewed leasing.
Leasing under BBG1 also promises economic benefits. Exploration and production activities typically create demand for barges, rigs, support vessels, logistics personnel, pipeline crews, and supply chain contractors. For regions along the Gulf Coast, that could mean substantial employment and regional investment.
At a national level, lease bonuses, rentals and future royalties should contribute to federal revenues and coastal-state funds for coastal restoration or disaster resilience programs.
What the environmental review says — and what critics warn
Before green-lighting BBG1, BOEM completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Gulf OCS leasing. The EIS serves as a broad foundation for assessing environmental, coastal and human impacts over the multi-sale program. It also aims to streamline environmental review for future individual projects under the programmatic umbrella.
However, environmental groups have challenged BBG1
They filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that BOEM’s analysis inadequately addresses serious risks: threats to ecosystems, endangered species — including deep-sea whales — the potential for oil spills, and long-term damage to marine biodiversity. The critics point out that a blanket programmatic EIS can miss site-specific risks for deepwater rigs, pipelines, or drilling operations.
Public interest organizations argue that increased drilling contradicts global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate energy transition, and protect climate-vulnerable coastal zones. They fear that a decades-long leasing horizon will lock in fossil-fuel dependence at a time when many call for cleaner energy solutions.
What BBG1 means for offshore workers, shipping, and the industry
For offshore professionals — rig crews, vessel operators, contractors — BBG1 could bring a wave of new activity. If companies win leases and proceed to exploration, expect demand for deepwater drilling rigs, support vessels, subsea contractors, marine crew, supply chain services, and logistics specialists.
Shipowners, crewing firms, and survey companies may see contracts for seismic work, geological or geophysical studies, platform installation, maintenance, and eventual production operations. Vessel tracking, supply-chain management, and marine-logistics operations would pick up pace.
At the same time, workers and companies will have to manage risk: stricter HSE (health, safety, environment) practices, regulatory compliance, environmental monitoring, and possibly more scrutiny from regulators and local authorities. For shipping and offshore vessel crews, BBG1 may mean new contract offers — but also new obligations, especially in environmental protection and safety procedures.
What comes next
BOEM opens bids on 10 December 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. It will livestream results publicly. Registered bidders may attend in person. The bidding deadline closes on 9 December at 10:00 a.m. The full package of sale terms, maps, block data and stipulations already sits available via BOEM’s “Sale BBG1” page.
After BBG1, the program moves quickly: next sale (BBG2) stands for March 2026. Unless legal challenges succeed, the 30-sale schedule locks in offshore leasing as a central feature of U.S. energy— at least through 2040.
