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 exploration and development on other OCS resources and on the marine, coastal, and human environments. This comment period will be the first of three in the multi-year and multi-phase planning process for the 11th National OCS Program.  

How to Comment:

The public comment period will run from April 30, 2025, through 11:59 pm ET on June 16, 2025. Comments will be accepted via www.regulations.gov/docket/BOEM-2025-0015 (preferred) or via U.S. mail. If submitting by mail, label envelope with “Comments for the 11th National OCS Program,” to Ms. Kelly Hammerle, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (VAM-LD), 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166.