(Photo James Jones Jr. | Shutterstock)
- Revenues generated from offshore energy activities provide funding for the U.S. Treasury, Gulf Coast states like Mississippi, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund.
Efforts to restore American energy dominance is starting in the Gulf of America, the Trump administration said Wednesday.
The Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management successfully conducted the first or thirty mandatory offshore oil and gas lease sale required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The goal is to accelerate fossil fuel production and put the U.S. in a position to be more self-reliant amid its global competitors.
The sale generated nearly $280 million in high bids for 181 blocks across 80 million acres in federal waters of the Gulf of America. Thirty companies submitted 219 bids totaling over $371 million.
The results of the bidding will be posted on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s website, with a final statistical summary published within 90 days.
Winning bidders, which could include oil giants Chevron, BP and others, will pay a 12.5 percent royalty on the oil produced from the leases, the lowest since 2007.
Revenues generated from offshore energy activities provide funding for the U.S. Treasury, Gulf Coast states like Mississippi, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the agency said offshore development generated $6.5 billion in royalties, $372.5 million in bonuses, and $122.8 million in rental payments.
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue disburses revenue to state and local governments for each of the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The Fiscal year 2025 disbursement for Mississippi totaled $51.9 million, with Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties receiving $1.9 million, $4.1 million and $4.3 million, respectively.
Critics of the increased oil production in the Gulf point to the need to protect wildlife in the area as well as account for potential negative environmental impacts that could come through spills, such as was seen in 2010 with the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
Yet, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said of the sale that President Donald Trump made clear from day one that the United States will no longer be held back by bad policy or foreign dependence.
“Today’s lease sale is another major milestone in rebuilding American Energy Dominance by unlocking investment, strengthening our energy security, creating jobs and ensuring Americans have access to affordable and reliable energy,” Burgum said in a statement. “The Trump administration is delivering results, and the Gulf of America is once again leading the way.”
Acting Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Matt Giacona added that in his view the strong bidding seen Wednesday reflects sustained industry confidence in the long-term potential of the U.S. outer continental shelf “and the clear direction of this Administration to expand responsible offshore development.”
The Department of Interior notes that the Gulf of America’s Outer Continental Shelf spans 160 million acres and holds an estimated 29.59 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
