A federal court has thrown out key Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, which will be vacated as of Dec. 20, 2024. The United States District Court for the District of...more
New and additional bonding requirements for certain companies operating on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) will take effect in June as a result of a recent rulemaking. These new requirements will be phased in over a...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Sept. 29, 2023, announced its long-awaited Five-Year Offshore Leasing Plan as required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (the Plan)....more
The Biden administration has proposed changes regarding when oil, gas, and sulfur lessees and certain other parties operating in the offshore Outer Continental Shelf must post additional bonds or other “supplemental financial...more
On June 29, 2023, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would substantially revise the financial assurance requirements applicable to offshore oil...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior, through its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), published a proposed rule on June 29, 2023, to significantly modify how the agency assesses the offshore oil and gas industry's...more
California has tremendous offshore wind resources and ambitious offshore power goals, but the uncertain rules and regimes for development have delayed implementation of projects. The California Energy Commission (CEC)...more
A new proposal aims to streamline the process for permitting and developing offshore renewable energy projects and reduce costs to developers. On January 30, 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a...more
The California coast is home to some of the best offshore wind resources in the country. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that California's coast has a resource potential of 201,000 megawatts (MW) of...more
Existing safety and environmental oversight and enforcement regulations governing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy activities were moved from the purview of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to that...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule to update regulations for the development of offshore wind energy resources, found at 30 C.F.R. Part 585.1 The...more
On January 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) announced a proposed rule (the “Modernization Rule”) to modernize its regulations for renewable energy development on the...more
California’s first upcoming offshore wind lease sale, scheduled for December 6, 2022, is the next major step forward for clean energy in the Golden State. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of...more
After the landmark prices received for eight offshore wind leases in the New York Bight, and with great anticipation for the upcoming December 6, 2022, lease auction for the Humboldt and Morro Bay Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) off...more
On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) published a Final Sale Notice (“FSN”) for commercial leasing for wind power on California’s Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”). Specifically, the FSN...more
On July 1, 2022,1 the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) released its Proposed Program for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) National Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (“National...more
On April 29, 2022, BOEM published a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) for six distinct areas in the Central Atlantic comprising almost 3.9 million acres, which are shown on the map below. BOEM will consider...more
The Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) revealed its intention to request Calls for Information and Nominations for a variety of Call Areas along the Central Atlantic and Oregon coasts on April 27. The Calls for...more
2021 witnessed a new but familiar competition among stakeholders for the use and enjoyment of the Outer Continental Shelf. Last year, interested parties initiated five lawsuits against the first federally approved offshore...more
The California coast offers significant potential for offshore wind development that can help the state reach its renewable energy goals. Developers of wind energy projects located off the California coast will face a number...more
Last week, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) held its second of two intergovernmental stakeholder meetings to discuss offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico. The February 2, 2022, meeting follows BOEM’s receipt...more
In the first week of his presidency, President Biden, by Executive Order, set a goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030—an ambitious goal to help put the United States on a path to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate...more
The California Legislature on Sept. 9, 2021, approved landmark state legislation to facilitate California's offshore wind energy potential. Assembly Bill (AB) 525 requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to prepare a...more
On June 11, 2021, the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a proposed sale notice to sell commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York...more
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) directs decommissioning of facilities located in federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that are used in performance of oil and gas exploration...more