BOEM Advances Offshore Minerals Planning Efforts in American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced key developments in its offshore critical minerals planning, with the completion of Area Identification offshore American Samoa and the release of a Request for Information and Interest for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.These actions mark progress in BOEM’s efforts to responsibly evaluate leasing opportunities for critical minerals on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf, supporting U.S. manufacturing, national security, and economic resilience.These efforts further the directives in President Trump’s April 2025 Executive
BOEM Extends Public Comment Period on Minerals Lease Sale
On June 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced its intent to publish a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) for commercial leasing for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seabed critical minerals offshore American Samoa. The Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) originally published the RFI in the Federal Register on Monday, June 16, 2025, initiating a 30-day public comment period.BOEM is extending the comment period until 11:59 p.m. ET on August 15 in response to a request from the Governor of American Samoa.“As we extend the
New AUV Helps Document Critical Minerals
the technology for the first time was part of a mission led by the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI), based at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).As part of a larger expedition to expand knowledge of the seafloor, the OECI partnered with Orpheus Ocean to field-test their new AUV east of the Mariana Trench. The AUV successfully completed several dives to depths exceeding 5,600 meters
US Launches Public Consultation for Potential Seabed Mineral Lease Sale
Samoa.The Request for Information, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register in the coming days, will launch a 30-day public comment period and mark the first formal step toward what could be the first mineral lease sale in federal waters in over 30 years.The RFI, issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), seeks input from a wide range of voices—American Samoa’s Indigenous community, ocean users, industry, government agencies and the public. Feedback will inform BOEM’s analysis of mineral potential, industry interest, environmental safeguards, cultural heritage
US Launches Process for Offshore Mineral Lease Sale
Critical Minerals and Resources” identifies seabed mineral development as vital to U.S. national security, particularly in light of growing activity by China and Russia in the Pacific region and America’s ongoing reliance on foreign critical minerals.On April 8, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management received a formal request for a lease sale from U.S.-based company Impossible Metals. In response, BOEM will begin a multi-step evaluation process grounded in science, public engagement and environmental stewardship.The first formal step will be the publication of a request for information
BOEM Seeks Public Comment for Eleventh National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program
On April 18, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) would soon initiate the first step in an engagement process to develop the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program). A Request for Information and Comments (RFI) will publish in the Federal Register on April 30, 2025. BOEM is seeking an array of information and comments, including but not limited to information associated with the economic, social, and environmental values of all OCS resources, as well as the potential impact of oil and gas
Equinor: Statement on Halting Empire Wind Project
In accordance with a halt work order issued by the US government, Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire) will safely halt the offshore construction in waters of the outer continental shelf for the Empire Wind project.On 16 April, Empire received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), ordering Empire to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review.Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order.The federal lease for Empire Wind was signed with the US Administrat
Impossible Metals Seeks Mining Lease Near American Samoa
the Pacific Ocean territory are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles and electronics.The request from privately held Impossible Metals asks the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - which oversees mineral deposits in federal waters - to launch a competitive lease process for the American Samoa nodules.A BOEM spokesperson confirmed the request and said the agency will decide by May 23 "whether to initiate steps that could lead to a lease sale." The agency
BOEM Initiates Cetacean Acoustic Monitoring Program
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has established the Partnership for an Offshore Wind Energy Regional Observation Network (POWERON).The public-private partnership between BOEM and offshore wind lessees is designed to maximize the quality and consistency of scientific data collected in lease areas while conserving and optimizing resources.The partnership is the latest way that the Biden-Harris administration is harnessing technology to responsibly advance offshore wind development in a way that protects biodiversity.The POWERON initiative expands BOEM’s recently established Passive
December 2025
