BOEM Offshore Lease Sales

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offers oil and gas leases on the federal Outer Continental Shelf through sealed-bid lease sales. Leases are offered by block, and the National OCS Program sets which areas are offered and when. Each sale's terms, including minimum bids and the bid deadline, are set out in a Final Notice of Sale.

How buying works

• Qualification: a company must show BOEM it is qualified to be a lessee before it can bid on or hold a lease; filings go through BOEM's online company qualification and bonding system.
• Sealed bids: the bonus bid is the price offered for a lease, with minimums set per acre. Bids are opened and read publicly, and recent sales have been livestreamed.
• Evaluation: BOEM has 90 days to accept or reject bids, after technical and legal checks, an antitrust review by the Justice Department and a fair-market-value review. Some large producers cannot bid jointly.
• Lease issue: the high bidder pays the rest of the bonus and the first-year rental after approval and must post financial assurance, usually a bond.

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Facts only, from the sources listed above. Always check each listing’s terms before you bid.