Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2023 / Notices 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 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket Number: BOEM–2023–0053] 

Call for Information and Nominations 

for Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf 

of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

and Gas Lease Sales for 2024–2029 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Interior 

ACTION: Call for information and 

nominations, request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) issues this Call for 

Information and Nominations (Call) 

covering proposed Gulf of Mexico oil 

and gas lease sales in the available 

portions of the Western, Central, and 

Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas 

(WPA, CPA, and EPA, respectively). 

Those sales are described in the 2024– 

2029 National Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program 

(2024–2029 National OCS Program), 

which BOEM announced on September 

29, 2023. This Call solicits industry 

nominations of acreage for possible 

inclusion in future sales and requests 

information from the public on the Call 

Area for lease sale planning. 

Specifically, BOEM seeks information 

on geological conditions, archaeological 

sites, potential use conflicts, areas of 

special concern, and other 

socioeconomic, biological, and 

environmental information. This Call is 

not a final decision to lease and does 

not prejudge any future secretarial 

decisions concerning leasing in the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

DATES: All nominations and comments 

must be received by BOEM or 

postmarked no later than November 1, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Public Comment Procedures: All 

public comments should be submitted 

through one of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the field 

entitled, ‘‘Search,’’ enter ‘‘BOEM–2023– 

0053’’ and then click ‘‘search.’’ Follow 

the instructions to submit public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available for this 

notice. 

2. U.S. Postal Service or other delivery 

service to the following address: Chief of 

Leasing and Financial Responsibility 

Section, BOEM, Gulf of Mexico OCS 

Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, 

Mail Stop GM 266A, New Orleans, 

Louisiana 70123–2394, telephone (504) 

736–7502. Send your comments in an 

envelope clearly labeled ‘‘Comments on 

the Call for Information and 

Nominations for 2024–2029 Gulf of 

Mexico Lease Sales.’’ 

3. Email: BOEMGOMRLeaseSales@

boem.gov 

Nominations and Indications of 

Interest Procedures: To ensure security 

and confidentiality of proprietary 

information to the maximum extent 

possible, please send nominations, 

indications of interest, and other 

proprietary information to: Chief of 

Leasing and Financial Responsibility 

Section, BOEM, Gulf of Mexico OCS 

Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., Mail 

Stop GM 266A, New Orleans, LA 

70123–2394, telephone (504) 736–7502. 

Consistent with subsection 6 in the 

‘‘Call for Information and Nominations’’ 

section of this Call below, you should 

mark all documents and every page 

containing such information with 

‘‘Confidential—Contains Proprietary 

Information.’’ Send your nominations in 

an envelope clearly labeled 

‘‘Nominations for 2024–2029 Gulf of 

Mexico Lease Sales.’’ Do not send 

nominations, indications of interest, or 

other proprietary information through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal or to the 

email address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bridgette Duplantis, Chief of Leasing 

and Financial Responsibility Section, 

BOEM, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Mail 

Stop GM 266A, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70123–2394, telephone (504) 736–7502, 

email: BOEMGOMRLeaseSales@

boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

2024–2029 National OCS Program 

Development: Information on the 

development of the 2024–2029 National 

OCS Program and its programmatic 

environmental impact statement (PEIS) 

is available on BOEM’s website at: 

https://www.boem.gov/National-OCSProgram/. 

Environmental Review Process: BOEM 

intends to prepare a PEIS, in accordance 

with the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA), analyzing a representative 

Gulf of Mexico proposed lease sale and 

reasonable alternatives. The PEIS will 

be supplemented as necessary for 

individual decisions on all future Gulf 

of Mexico lease sales included in the 

2024–2029 National OCS Program. 

The PEIS will evaluate the potential 

effects that oil and gas activities 

resulting from a lease sale could have on 

the human, marine, and coastal 

environments. The PEIS may propose 

measures and lease stipulations to 

mitigate adverse impacts for the 

alternatives being analyzed. 

Consultations will be conducted, as 

appropriate. Consultation with Tribal 

Nations, States, and Federal agencies 

address BOEM obligations under the 

Coastal Zone Management Act, 

Endangered Species Act, the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act, and 

Executive Order 13175, ‘‘Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments.’’ The results of these 

consultations assist the Secretary in 

leasing decisions. 

BOEM’s Leasing Process: BOEM’s 

regulations for planning and holding an 

oil and gas lease sale are found at 30 

CFR 556.300-.309. These regulations 

include the following steps: 

(1) Call for Information and 

Nominations: See section below. 

(2) Area Identification: Based on the 

information and nominations submitted 

in response to this Call, BOEM will 

recommend an area for further leasing 

consideration and environmental 

analysis. Upon approval by the 

Secretary, BOEM will announce the 

proposed area identified for leasing in 

the Federal Register, in accordance with 

30 CFR 556.302(a)(3). 

(3) Proposed Notice of Sale (PNOS): If 

BOEM proceeds with the leasing 

process after Area Identification and 

environmental analysis, it will publish 

a Notice of Availability of a PNOS in the 

Federal Register. BOEM also will send 

the PNOS to the Governors of affected 

States for comment and 


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67802 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2023 / Notices 

recommendations on the size, timing, 

and location of the proposed sale. The 

PNOS describes the size, timing, and 

location of the proposed sale; provides 

additional information on the areas 

proposed for leasing; lists proposed 

lease terms and conditions of the sale; 

and provides proposed stipulations to 

mitigate potential adverse impacts on 

the environment and other uses of the 

area. 

(4) Final Notice of Sale (FNOS): If 

BOEM decides to proceed with leasing, 

it will publish a FNOS in the Federal 

Register at least 30 days before the date 

of the lease sale. The FNOS describes 

the place, time, and methods for filing, 

opening, and publicly announcing bids. 

It also contains a description of the 

areas offered for lease, the lease terms 

and conditions of the sale, and 

stipulations to mitigate potential 

adverse impacts on the environment 

and other uses of the area. 

Call for Information and Nominations 

1. Authority 

This Call is published pursuant to the 

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

(OCSLA), as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331– 

1356) and the implementing regulation 

at 30 CFR 556.301. 

2. Purpose of the Call 

The purpose of this Call is twofold. 

First, this Call solicits industry 

nominations for areas of leasing interest. 

Second, this Call requests comments 

and information from the public on the 

areas that should be included in the 

proposed oil and gas lease sales in the 

Gulf of Mexico included in the 2024– 

2029 National OCS Program. Pursuant 

to 30 CFR 556.301, BOEM seeks 

comments from industry and the public 

on: 

(a) industry interest in the Call Area, 

including nominations or indications of 

interest in specific blocks within the 

Call Area; 

(b) geological conditions, including 

bottom hazards; 

(c) archaeological sites on the seabed 

or near shore; 

(d) potential use conflicts in the Call 

Area, including navigation, recreation, 

and fisheries; 

(e) areas that should receive special 

concern and analysis; and 

(f) other socioeconomic, biological, 

and environmental information. 

BOEM will consider information 

submitted in response to this Call to: 

• inform the Area Identification 

process under 30 CFR 556.302; 

• prioritize areas with higher 

potential for oil and gas development; 

• develop potential lease terms and 

conditions; 

• identify potential use conflicts and 

potential mitigation measures; and 

• assist in BOEM’s planning and 

environmental review process. 

3. Description of the Call Area 

The Call Area is identical to the Gulf 

of Mexico (GOM) area included in the 

2024–2029 National OCS Program and 

includes the entire WPA, CPA, and 

EPA, except areas withdrawn by the 

President. The Call Area excludes areas 

withdrawn pursuant to section 12 of 

OCSLA (43 U.S.C. 1341) by Presidential 

memoranda dated September 8, 2020, 

(withdrawing the bulk of the EPA and 

a portion of the CPA) and July 17, 2008, 

(withdrawing the Flower Garden Banks 

National Marine Sanctuary within the 

boundaries that existed on July 14, 

2008). 

The WPA is bound on the west and 

north by the Federal-State boundary 

offshore Texas. The eastern boundary 

begins at the offshore boundary between 

Texas and Louisiana and proceeds 

southeasterly to 28.43° N latitude, 

thence south-southwesterly to 27.49° N 

latitude, thence south-southeasterly to 

25.80° N latitude. The WPA is bound on 

the south by the maritime boundary 

with Mexico as established by treaties 

between the United States and Mexico. 

BOEM is seeking nominations and 

comments on the entire WPA, which 

consists of approximately 28.58 million 

acres, of which approximately 26.45 

million acres are currently unleased. 

The CPA is bound on the west by the 

WPA’s eastern boundary and on the 

north by the Federal-State boundaries 

offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and 

Alabama. The eastern boundary of the 

CPA begins at the offshore boundary 

between Alabama and Florida and 

proceeds southeasterly to 26.19° N 

latitude, thence southwesterly to 25.6° 

N latitude. The CPA is bound on the 

south by the maritime boundary with 

Mexico as established by the ‘‘Treaty 

between the Government of the United 

States of America and the Government 

of the United Mexican States on the 

Delimitation of the Continental Shelf in 

the Western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 

Nautical Miles,’’ which took effect in 

January 2001. BOEM is seeking 

nominations and comments on the area 

within the CPA not subject to 

Presidential withdrawal (approximately 

64.47 million acres, of which 

approximately 56.86 million acres are 

currently unleased). 

The Call Area includes two small 

sections of the EPA not subject to the 

2020 Presidential withdrawal. See 

https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/ 

leasing/areas-under-restriction/ for a 

map and description of the areas under 

restriction. The first section of the EPA 

included in the Call and not subject to 

withdrawal is bound on the west and 

north by the CPA, on the east by the 

Military Mission Line (86.68° W 

longitude), and on the south by blocks 

that are beyond the U.S. Exclusive 

Economic Zone in the area known as the 

northern portion of the Eastern Gap. The 

second section of the EPA included in 

the Call and not subject to withdrawal 

is a triangular-shaped area bound on the 

north by the southern boundary of the 

Lease Sale 181 area, on the east by the 

Military Mission Line (86.68° W 

longitude), and to the south and west by 

the CPA boundary. All blocks in both 

sections are more than 125 miles 

offshore. BOEM is seeking nominations 

and comments on these two sections of 

the EPA. Together, these two sections 

comprise approximately 1.05 million 

acres, all of which are currently 

unleased. 

A map depicting the Call Area is 

available for download on the BOEM 

website at: http://www.boem.gov/2024- 

2029/Call-for-Information/. Copies of 

Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) 

also are available for download on the 

BOEM website at: https://

www.boem.gov/Maps-and-GIS-Data/. 

4. Targeted Leasing 

BOEM requests comments and 

nominations for the entire Call Area. 

However, the GOM hosts many other 

uses of the OCS, some of which may 

conflict with oil and gas leasing or 

associated activities. Therefore, 

consideration of a targeted leasing 

approach is warranted. 

Under a targeted leasing approach, 

GOM areas proposed for leasing could 

be further refined and narrowed based 

on public input and analysis during the 

planning and environmental review 

stages. A targeted leasing approach 

could, for example, remove biologically 

sensitive areas, areas that serve as 

unique habitat, and areas that conflict 

with other uses of the marine 

environment, such as those areas used 

for commercial fishing, sand resources, 

or future wind energy development. 

This targeted approach could also offer 

lease sales in areas with the highest 

resource potential while appropriately 

weighing environmental protection and 

other uses of the ocean and seabed, 

consistent with OCSLA. A targeted 

approach could also be considered in 

light of section 50265(b)(2) of the 

Inflation Reduction Act. That section 

requires BOEM to offer at least 60 

million OCS acres for oil and gas leasing 

within the 12 months prior to issuing an 

offshore wind lease. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2023 / Notices 67803 

BOEM seeks comments on 

implementing targeted leasing and 

information on areas of specific interest 

within the Call Area as it continues 

analyzing areas most suitable for oil and 

gas leasing. 

5. Instructions on Responding to the 

Call 

BOEM requests parties interested in 

leasing any whole or partial blocks 

within the Call Area to indicate their 

interest in, and comment on, blocks that 

they would like included in a proposed 

lease sale. Parties should explicitly 

nominate whole or partial blocks and 

rank them using the following 

indicators: 1 [high], 2 [medium], or 3 

[low]. Parties are encouraged to be as 

specific as possible in prioritizing 

blocks and supporting nominations with 

detailed information, such as relevant 

geologic, geophysical, and economic 

data. BOEM will consider as low 

priority areas where interest has been 

indicated but not prioritized. 

Parties may also nominate blocks by 

OPD and leasing map designations to 

ensure correct interpretation of their 

nominations. OPDs and leasing maps 

are available on BOEM’s website at 

https://www.boem.gov/Maps-and-GISData/. 

See subsection 6, ‘‘Protection of 

Privileged, Proprietary, and Personal 

Information,’’ regarding protection and 

release of information and how to 

submit proprietary information. 

BOEM also seeks comments from the 

public regarding particular geological, 

environmental, biological, 

archaeological, and socioeconomic 

conditions, potential use conflicts, or 

other information about conditions that 

could affect the potential leasing and 

development of particular areas. 

Comments may refer to broad areas or 

particular OCS blocks. 

6. Protection of Privileged, Proprietary, 

and Personal Information 

BOEM will protect privileged or 

proprietary information in accordance 

with the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) and OCSLA requirements. To 

avoid inadvertent release of such 

information, you should mark all 

documents and every page containing 

such information with ‘‘Confidential— 

Contains Proprietary Information.’’ To 

the extent a document contains a mix of 

proprietary and nonproprietary 

information, you should clearly mark 

the document to indicate which portion 

of the document is proprietary and 

which is not. Exemption 4 of FOIA 

applies to trade secrets and commercial 

or financial information that you submit 

that is privileged or confidential. BOEM 

considers nominations of specific blocks 

to be proprietary. Therefore, BOEM will 

not release information that identifies 

any particular nomination with any 

particular party, so as not to 

compromise the competitive position of 

any participants. 

Please be aware that BOEM’s practice 

is to make all other comments, 

including the names and addresses of 

individuals, available for public 

inspection. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personally identifiable 

information in your comment, please be 

advised that your entire comment, 

including your personally identifiable 

information, may be made publicly 

available at any time. For BOEM to 

consider withholding from disclosure 

your personally identifiable 

information, you must identify, in a 

cover letter, any information contained 

in your comments that, if released, 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of your personal privacy. You 

must also briefly describe any possible 

harmful consequences of the disclosure 

of information, such as embarrassment, 

injury, or other harm. 

Even if BOEM withholds your 

information in the context of this Call, 

your submission is subject to the FOIA. 

If your submission is requested under 

the FOIA, your information will only be 

withheld if BOEM determines that one 

of the FOIA exemptions to disclosure 

applies. Such a determination will be 

made in accordance with the 

Department’s FOIA regulations and 

applicable law. 

BOEM will make available for public 

inspection all comments, in their 

entirety, submitted by organizations and 

businesses (except as provided above for 

proprietary information) or by 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives of organizations or 

businesses. 

Elizabeth Klein, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21679 Filed 9–29–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2023–0046] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Gulf of 

Mexico Regional Outer Continental 

Shelf Oil and Gas Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare 

a programmatic environmental impact 

statement (PEIS); request for comments. 

SUMMARY: Consistent with the 

regulations implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 

BOEM announces its intent to prepare a 

Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (GOM Oil and Gas PEIS). The 

GOM Oil and Gas PEIS will analyze the 

potential impacts of a representative oil 

and gas lease sale in available OCS areas 

of the Western, Central, and Eastern 

Planning Areas (Proposed Action) and 

the associated potential site and 

activity-specific approvals resulting 

from a sale. This NOI announces the 

scoping process BOEM will use to 

identify significant issues and potential 

alternatives for consideration in the 

GOM Oil and Gas PEIS. The draft PEIS 

will include a summary of all 

alternatives, information, and analyses 

submitted during the scoping process 

for consideration by BOEM and the 

cooperating agencies. 

DATES: BOEM will consider comments 

received by November 1, 2023. BOEM 

will hold two virtual public scoping 

meetings for the GOM Oil and Gas PEIS. 

The first will be held on October 17, 

2023, at 6 p.m. CDT, and the second on 

October 19, 2023, at 1 p.m. CDT. 

Additional information and 

registration for the public meetings may 

be found here: https://www.boem.gov/ 

Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-and-Gas-PEIS or by 

calling 1–800–200–4853. 

ADDRESSES: Detailed information can be 

found on BOEM’s website at: https://

www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-andGas-PEIS. 

Written comments can be submitted 

through the regulations.gov web portal: 

Navigate to https://www.regulations.gov 

and search for Docket No. BOEM–2023– 

0046. Select the document in the search 

results on which you want to comment, 

click on the ‘‘Comment’’ button, and 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting your comment. A 

commenter’s checklist is available on 

the comment web page. Enter your 

information and comment, then click 

‘‘Submit.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Helen Rucker, BOEM New Orleans 

Office, Office of Environment, 1201 

Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, 

Louisiana 70123, telephone (504) 736– 

2421, or email helen.rucker@boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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