[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67800-67801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21714]


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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 of delay of sale.

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SUMMARY: With this notice, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) 
is announcing the rescheduling of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261. 
Instead of holding the sale on September 27, 2023, as originally 
planned, BOEM will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks 
offered in the sale on November 8, 2023, in accordance with the order 
issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on 
September 25, 2023. Additional information regarding the sale and a new 
Final Notice of Sale (NOS) package will be available on BOEM's website 
at least 30 days prior to the sale date at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The New Orleans Office Lease Sale 
Coordinator, Greg Purvis, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3b1bcb6beb4bcbea1bf96928096a0929f9680b3919c969edd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d2909d979f959d9f809eb7b3a1b781b3beb7a192b0bdb7bffcb5bda4">[email protected]</span></a> or 504-736-
1729.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 25, 2023, BOEM published in the 
Federal Register the Final NOS for Lease Sale 261. See 88 FR 58310. In 
that Final NOS, BOEM announced that the sale would be held on September 
27, 2023. Two lawsuits then challenged the Final NOS in the U.S. 
District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and plaintiffs in 
those cases sought 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 (Case 
No. 2:23-CV-01157) 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 filed an 
emergency motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 
requesting an extension of time to allow BOEM to take the 
administrative steps necessary to hold the modified sale and provide 
the statutorily required notice to the public of the revised sale 
terms. On September 25, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued an order (Case 
No. 23-30666) directing BOEM to hold Lease Sale 261 as required by the 
district court, but permitting BOEM until November 8, 2023, to hold the 
sale. The Fifth Circuit's order stated that no further extensions will 
be granted.
    BOEM is returning all bids submitted by bidders under the 
previously issued Final NOS and is rescheduling Lease Sale 261 for 
November 8, 2023. Bidders wishing to participate in Lease Sale 261

[[Page 67801]]

must re-submit bids in accordance with the terms and conditions 
contained in the revised Final NOS which, in accordance with the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act, BOEM will publish at least 30 days prior 
to the sale date.
    BOEM intends to publish the revised Final NOS in the Federal 
Register and on its website. The public and interested bidders are 
advised that a lapse in appropriations may preclude BOEM from 
publishing the Final NOS in the Federal Register. In the event of a 
partial or full government shutdown, BOEM will still publish the Final 
NOS package (e.g., Final Notice of Sale, Lease Stipulations, and 
Information to Lessees) on its website at least 30 days prior to the 
sale date, and that notice will serve as the official notice of the 
sale.
    Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1337; 30 CFR part 556.

Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-21714 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P


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