Notice2023-21714
Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 2, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
With this notice, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the rescheduling of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261. Instead of holding the sale on September 27, 2023, as originally planned, BOEM will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks offered in the sale on November 8, 2023, in accordance with the order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on September 25, 2023. Additional information regarding the sale and a new Final Notice of Sale (NOS) package will be available on BOEM's website at least 30 days prior to the sale date at https://www.boem.gov/oil- gas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67800-67801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21714]
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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 of delay of sale.
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SUMMARY: With this notice, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
is announcing the rescheduling of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261.
Instead of holding the sale on September 27, 2023, as originally
planned, BOEM will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks
offered in the sale on November 8, 2023, in accordance with the order
issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on
September 25, 2023. Additional information regarding the sale and a new
Final Notice of Sale (NOS) package will be available on BOEM's website
at least 30 days prior to the sale date at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261">https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The New Orleans Office Lease Sale
Coordinator, Greg Purvis, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3b1bcb6beb4bcbea1bf96928096a0929f9680b3919c969edd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d2909d979f959d9f809eb7b3a1b781b3beb7a192b0bdb7bffcb5bda4">[email protected]</span></a> or 504-736-
1729.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 25, 2023, BOEM published in the
Federal Register the Final NOS for Lease Sale 261. See 88 FR 58310. In
that Final NOS, BOEM announced that the sale would be held on September
27, 2023. Two lawsuits then challenged the Final NOS in the U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and plaintiffs in
those cases sought 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 (Case
No. 2:23-CV-01157) 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 filed an
emergency motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,
requesting an extension of time to allow BOEM to take the
administrative steps necessary to hold the modified sale and provide
the statutorily required notice to the public of the revised sale
terms. On September 25, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued an order (Case
No. 23-30666) directing BOEM to hold Lease Sale 261 as required by the
district court, but permitting BOEM until November 8, 2023, to hold the
sale. The Fifth Circuit's order stated that no further extensions will
be granted.
BOEM is returning all bids submitted by bidders under the
previously issued Final NOS and is rescheduling Lease Sale 261 for
November 8, 2023. Bidders wishing to participate in Lease Sale 261
[[Page 67801]]
must re-submit bids in accordance with the terms and conditions
contained in the revised Final NOS which, in accordance with the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, BOEM will publish at least 30 days prior
to the sale date.
BOEM intends to publish the revised Final NOS in the Federal
Register and on its website. The public and interested bidders are
advised that a lapse in appropriations may preclude BOEM from
publishing the Final NOS in the Federal Register. In the event of a
partial or full government shutdown, BOEM will still publish the Final
NOS package (e.g., Final Notice of Sale, Lease Stipulations, and
Information to Lessees) on its website at least 30 days prior to the
sale date, and that notice will serve as the official notice of the
sale.
Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1337; 30 CFR part 556.
Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-21714 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 2, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.