The attached comments were submitted to Regulations.gov on 9/8/2025.
Legislatively dictating downhole commingling approvals, as per Section 50102 of the One Big Beautiful Bill, is a reckless precedent from both technical and regulatory policy standpoints.
This type of legislative maneuver compromises the integrity of the OCS oil and gas program and the companies that participate in it. Shaving the maximum royalty rate was one thing; mandating well completion approvals is quite something else. Disappointing. ☹
During the 2024 presidential campaign and early in his second term, President Trump repeatedly pledged to “immediately refill” the Strategic Petroleum Reserve(SPR) to its maximum capacity, emphasizing its role in ensuring energy security and stabilizing oil markets during global supply disruptions.
The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) sends a much different message, providing only $171 million for petroleum acquisition and $218 million for maintenance of SPR facilities through 2029. This is an 87% reduction in the acquisition funding from the House version that proposed $1.3 billion for crude oil purchases.
The Administration has offered no comment on the BBB’s surprise SPR language. Meanwhile, the SPR will likely remain at or near the current level, which is 324 million bbls below the 2010 high and only 56 million bbls above the 2023 low. (See the above chart.)
We preferred the House version, but the Senate Parliamentarian killed the provisions that reduced the risk of litigation and processing delays.
Whether justified or not, the royalty rate is now capped at 1/6 and a 10-year deepwater lease term is locked in.
The favorable terms and assurance of regular GOA lease sales put the ball squarely in industry’s court. We are looking for a good showing at Sale 262, including some new bidders and the return of some prominent companies.
“Leases awarded through Lease Sale 262 will be for oil and gas exploration and development only.” (News Release)
“Leases issued as a result of GOA Lease Sale 262 are expressly limited to oil and gas exploration and development.” (p. 16 of the Sale Notice)
Comment: Why would BOEM stipulate, for the first time ever, that an Oil and Gas Lease Sale is only for oil and gas exploration and development? Perhaps because, at the last 3 sales, 2 companies wrongfully acquired oil and leases for carbon disposal purposes. Those leases will likely expire at the end of their primary term, and the lessees will have nothing to show for their investment.
Other items of interest:
“Congress may enact legislation through reconciliation efforts sometime after publication of this Proposed NOS“
Comment: The Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing provisions in the “Big Beautiful Bill” make OCS leases more attractive in that they minimize sale uncertainty and return royalty rates to pre-IRA levels.
Proposed Primary Terms
Comment: Time for an update. The drilling requirements for a primary term extension should be the same for leases in 0-400 m as for those in 400-800 m. The requirement for an ultra-deep subsurface well is selectively punitive to shelf operations. These operations, although typically less lucrative, are important to the Gulf’s infrastructure.
Restricted Joint Bidders On April 29, 2025, BOEM published the most recent List of Restricted Joint Bidders in the Federal Register (90 FR 17832). Potential bidders are advised to refer to the Federal Register prior to bidding for the most current list at the time of the lease sale. Please refer to the joint bidding provisions at 30 CFR 556.511-556.515
The differences between the House and Senate versions of the Big Beautiful Bill are summarized in the table below. (See the previous post on the House version.)
The Senate bill includes royalty and lease terms that favor deepwater lessees, but excludes the provisions in the House bill that streamline the leasing process and minimize litigation risks. At least some of those House provisions were rejected by the Senate Parliamentarian.
The House will vote on the version that passes the Senate. So the Senate version is more likely to be enacted.
House
Senate
Comment
royalty: 12.5% to 18.75%
royalty: 12.5% to 16 2/3%
Lowering the royalty cap to 1/6 (16 2/3%) unduly limits the Secretary’s discretion and may reduce revenues without significantly increasing production.
2 GOA sales/yr over next 15 yrs.
same as House
Would have liked the opportunity for consideration of very limited Atlantic leasing or stratigraphic test drilling, but that is not politically feasible at this time.
use Sale 254 form and stips 4-10, may update stips 1-3
sale 254 lease form and stips 4-9, may update stips 1-3 and 10
The minor difference favors the Senate version. Stip 10 pertains to restrictions due to Rights-of-Use and Easement for Floating Production Facilities, and needs to be updated with each sale
mandates 10 year lease term for water depths >800 m
Although a 10 year term for deepwater leases is generally prudent, the Secretary should be able to choose a shorter term if concerns about timely exploration and diligent development arise (more likely given the increase in leases that could be issued as a result of the 2 sales/yr mandate).
requires approval of subsurface commingling unless there is “conclusive evidence” of safety or ultimate recovery issues
Although BSEE’s policy change on downhole commingling was warranted, the legislative change removes essentially all discretion by mandating approval unless there is “conclusive evidence” to the contrary. Conclusive evidence is dependent on production history, at which point it may be too late.
Adherence with the Biological Opinion shall satisfy the Secretary’s obligations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
This provision reduces govt/lessee litigation risks
Previous EIS’s for the Gulf of Mexico shall satisfy the Secretary’s NEPA obligation.
Rejected by the Senate Parliamentarian.
Consistency determinations prepared by BOEM for Lease Sale 261 for the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida will satisfy the Secretary’s CZMA obligations.
The States or Parliamentarian may not have been comfortable with this provision which simplifies plan approval processes.
The Secretary may waive any requirement under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that the Secretary determines would delay issuance of a lease.
Rejected by the Senate Parliamentarian?
A lease must be issued to the highest responsible qualified bidder not later than 90 days after the sale date.
Rejected by the Senate Parliamentarian.
A Governor may nominate for leasing under a lease sale held under this section an area of the OCS that is adjacent to the waters of the State
Never understood the need for this provision.
G&G surveys must be approved within 30 days after a complete application is received.
Not feasible in some cases given endangered species concerns.
A lease awarded under Lease Sale 259 or Lease Sale 261 shall not be set aside, vacated, enjoined, suspended, or cancelled except in accordance with section 5 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334). Also, new terms or conditions may not be added to these leases.
Reduces litigation risks.
Any action to approve, require modification of, or disapprove any exploration plan, development and production plan, bidding procedure, lease sale, lease issuance, or permit or authorization related to oil and gas exploration, development, or production, or any inaction resulting in the failure to hold a lease sale shall be subject to judicial review only in a United States court of appeals for a circuit in which an affected State is located.
This provision significantly reduces litigation risks. Rejected by Parliamentarian?
6+ Cook Inlet sales over next 10 yrs.
6+ Cook Inlet sales over the next 7 years
90% of Cook Inlet revenues to the State of Alaska.
70% of Cook Inlet revenues to the State of Alaska.
The percentages are high, but the revenues are likely to be low.
Part VIII, Offshore OIl and Gas Leasing, is a good read for those interested in OCS leasing policy. This cleverly crafted part of the bill specifies leasing schedules, streamlines the leasing process, and minimizes litigation risks. Highlights:
Minimum royalty rates return to 12.5% from 16.67% post-IRA. (This is good for small, shelf producers.) The maximum rate remains 18.75%.
Requires a Gulf of America lease sale by 8/15/2025, a sale by 3/15 and 8/15 in each of the following 14 years (2026-2039), and a sale by 3/15/2040. 80+ million acres must be offered at each sale unless that amount of acreage is no longer available for leasing.
The lease form, lease terms, economic conditions, and stipulations 4 through 10 must be the same as for Lease Sale 254 (3/18/2020). Stipulations 1-3 may be updated.
Requires seven 1+ million acre (if available) Cook Inlet lease sales from 2026 – 2032. Beginning in 2035, 90% of the revenues go to the State of Alaska.
The required lease sales may be in addition to the lease sales held under the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
Adherence with the Biological Opinion shall satisfy the Secretary’s obligations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
Previous EIS’s for the Gulf of Mexico shall satisfy the Secretary’s NEPA obligation.
Consistency determinations prepared by BOEM for Lease Sale 261 for the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida will satisfy the Secretary’s CZMA obligations.
The Secretary may waive any requirement under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that the Secretary determines would delay issuance of a lease.
A lease must be issued to the highest responsible qualified bidder not later than 90 days after the sale date.
The Secretary shall establish a process through which a Governor may nominate for leasing under a lease sale held under this section an area of the OCS that is adjacent to the waters of the State; and is unleased and available for leasing. If the Governor of a State nominates an area, the Secretary shall include the area in the next scheduled sale. (It appears that this provision applies only to the Gulf of America. Objective?)
G&G surveys must be approved within 30 days after a complete application is received.
A lease awarded under Lease Sale 259 or Lease Sale 261 shall not be set aside, vacated, enjoined, suspended, or cancelled except in accordance with section 5 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334). Also, new terms or conditions may not be added to these leases. (This protects lessees from pending litigation related to these leases).
Any action to approve, require modification of, or disapprove any exploration plan, development and production plan, bidding procedure, lease sale, lease issuance, or permit or authorization related to oil and gas exploration, development, or production, or any inaction resulting in the failure to hold a lease sale shall be subject to judicial review only in a United States court of appeals for a circuit in which an affected State is located.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 