Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261, 77363 [2023-24834]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 77363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24834]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0013]


Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice regarding Lease Sale 261.

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SUMMARY: With this notice, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) 
is announcing that it is postponing Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261 
pending further action by the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Fifth Circuit. To comply with an injunction sought and obtained by the 
State of Louisiana and other plaintiffs from the district court, as 
well as a subsequent order from the Fifth Circuit, BOEM had previously 
provided notice of its intent to hold Lease Sale 261 on November 8, 
2023. On October 26, 2023, however, the Fifth Circuit stayed the 
relevant injunction and order pending the merits panel's decision on 
appeal. To avoid preempting the Fifth Circuit's decision, and avoid 
duplication of effort, BOEM is now deferring Lease Sale 261 pending 
disposition of the appeal that is before the Fifth Circuit.
    Therefore, BOEM will not open and announce bids for the sale on 
November 8, 2023. BOEM will make future announcements regarding when 
and under what terms Lease Sale 261 will be held after the Court issues 
its ruling or provides additional direction to BOEM. Additional 
information and announcements will be made available on BOEM's website 
prior to the sale date. See https://www.boem.gov/sale-261.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The New Orleans Office Lease Sale 
Coordinator, Greg Purvis, at [email protected] or 504-736-
1729.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 25, 2023, BOEM published in the 
Federal Register the Final Notice of Sale (NOS) for Lease Sale 261. See 
88 FR 58300. In that Final NOS, BOEM announced that the sale would be 
held on September 27, 2023. The State of Louisiana and other plaintiffs 
then challenged the Final NOS in the U.S. District Court for the 
Western District of Louisiana, seeking preliminary injunctions to force 
BOEM to (1) include lease blocks previously excluded to protect the 
Rice's whale and (2) remove provisions in Stipulation No. 4 
(``Protected Species'') that BOEM had added to protect the Rice's whale 
from certain oil and gas activities while BOEM engaged in a reinitiated 
consultation under the Endangered Species Act.
    On September 21, 2023, six days before the planned sale, the 
district court issued a preliminary injunction order requiring BOEM to 
include the previously excluded blocks and modify the stipulation by 
removing the new Rice's whale protections. The court also ordered BOEM 
to hold the sale on or before September 30, 2023. On September 22, 
2023, the government appealed and filed an emergency motion in the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, requesting that the court stay 
or modify the injunction to avoid an inequitable sale and to allow for 
the administrative and legal processes necessary to hold the modified 
sale and provide the statutorily required notice to the public of the 
revised lease sale terms. (Case No. 23-30666). Intervenor-Defendants 
also appealed and filed an emergency motion in the Fifth Circuit, 
requesting that the Court stay the injunction in its entirety. On 
September 25, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued an order directing BOEM to 
hold Lease Sale 261 as required by the district court, but permitting 
BOEM until November 8, 2023, to hold the sale. On October 6, 2023, BOEM 
published a revised Final NOS in accordance with the September 25, 
2023, order, announcing the modified terms of the sale and notifying 
bidders that it would open bids on November 8, 2023. See 88 FR 69660. 
On October 26, 2023, the Fifth Circuit stayed the injunction in its 
entirety pending further action by that court and scheduled oral 
argument for November 13, 2023.
    Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, BOEM has inherent 
discretion to postpone lease sales on reasonable grounds, including, as 
described in the October 6, 2023, notice, to comply with court orders. 
Because BOEM anticipates that the Fifth Circuit will further clarify 
the scope of BOEM's discretion and obligations concerning Lease Sale 
261, BOEM has concluded that holding Lease Sale 261 before the Fifth 
Circuit resolves the appeal could result in duplication of effort and 
bidder confusion in the event that the November 8, 2023, sale is 
inconsistent with the Fifth Circuit's subsequent guidance. BOEM will 
therefore not hold Lease Sale 261 on November 8, 2023. Bidders wishing 
to participate in Lease Sale 261 should not submit bids until receiving 
further instructions from BOEM. Bids that were already received will be 
held by BOEM, and BOEM will notify bidders of how those bids will be 
handled once it receives further direction from the Fifth Circuit. In 
reaching this conclusion, BOEM is cognizant that the Inflation 
Reduction Act of 2022 directs BOEM to hold Lease Sale 261 by September 
30, 2023, a deadline that BOEM was prepared to meet prior to 
plaintiffs' lawsuits.
    As set forth above, BOEM is postponing the sale beyond its 
originally scheduled date in response to plaintiffs' lawsuits and the 
resulting judicial orders.
    Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1337; 30 CFR part 556.

Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-24834 Filed 11-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P