Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261
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Issuing agencies
Abstract
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 http://www.boem.gov/sale-261.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 77363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 <a href="http://www.boem.gov/sale-261">http://www.boem.gov/sale-261</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The New Orleans Office Lease Sale
Coordinator, Greg Purvis, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c0e0309010b03011e00292d3f291f2d20293f0c2e232921622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d4969b9199939b998698b1b5a7b187b5b8b1a794b6bbb1b9fab3bba2">[email protected]</span></a> 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
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</html>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.