Bureau of Ocean Energy Management October 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1010-0191.

Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and BOEM's regulatory restrictions on joint bidding, BOEM is publishing this list of restricted joint bidders. Each entity within one of the following groups is restricted from bidding with any entity in any of the other groups listed below at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales held during the bidding period of November 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is amending its renewable energy regulations to update the definition of Outer Continental Shelf and add the definition of State in conformity with the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issues this Call for Information and Nominations (Call) covering proposed Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sales in the available portions of the Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas (WPA, CPA, and EPA, respectively). Those sales are described in the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2024-2029 National OCS Program), which BOEM announced on September 29, 2023. This Call solicits industry nominations of acreage for possible inclusion in future sales and requests information from the public on the Call Area for lease sale planning. Specifically, BOEM seeks information on geological conditions, archaeological sites, potential use conflicts, areas of special concern, and other socioeconomic, biological, and environmental information. This Call is not a final decision to lease and does not prejudge any future secretarial decisions concerning leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare a Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Oil and Gas PEIS). The GOM Oil and Gas PEIS will analyze the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas (Proposed Action) and the associated potential site and activity-specific approvals resulting from a sale. This NOI announces the scoping process BOEM will use to identify significant issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the GOM Oil and Gas PEIS. The draft PEIS will include a summary of all alternatives, information, and analyses submitted during the scoping process for consideration by BOEM and the cooperating agencies.