The administration is expected to release the proposed sales notice in June.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgham said Friday that he had directed the Maritime Energy Management Agency to hold offshore oil and gas lease sales in the US Gulf later this year.
This was the first lease sale held under the Trump administration in the US Gulf. President Donald Trump was recently renamed from his previous name, the Gulf of Mexico.
The Trump administration sees it as a key component of opening the outer continental shelf for oil and gas activities, ensuring the country’s energy domination at the global stage.
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In addition, the department will direct lease sales, rents and royalties from external continental shelf oil and gas activities, and to the state through various revenue sharing programs that fund conservation and outdoor recreation that benefit U.S. citizens.
Gulf Lease also says it will generate “tens of thousands of highly paid jobs” for U.S. citizens, from exploration and production to services and supply chains.
The outer continental shelf contains the main sources of oil and gas that are important for the country’s energy supply. The division estimated that leases of “undiscovered fields” in the US Gulf would produce 29.59 billion barrels of oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The National Marine Industry Association (NOIA) welcomes oil and gas lease sales, saying the Gulf Coast serves as “a foundation for America’s energy security, economic vitality and job creation.”
“Noia and our members look forward to working with American policymakers to maintain their role as a global leader in responsible energy production.”
The order says that under previous administrations, “burden and ideologically motivated regulations” have hindered the development of the country’s energy resources, limited the generation of reliable, affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and led to high energy costs.
“Therefore, it is in the national interest to unlock America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources,” Trump said in his order.
The order directs agencies to “see all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders and other agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to identify organizational lawsuits that place an undue burden on the identification, development or use of national energy resources.
Reuters and KadenPearson contributed to this report.
