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Union Calendar No. 333 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5616 

[Report No. 118–405] 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore lease 

sales. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. 

ELLZEY, and Mr. EZELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

MARCH 5, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HUNT and Mr. CARL

MARCH 5, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 21, 2023] 


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A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain 

offshore lease sales. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bringing Reliable In5 vestment into Domestic Gulf Energy Production Act of 

6 2023’’ or the ‘‘BRIDGE Production Act of 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) OFFSHORE LEASE SALE.—The term ‘‘offshore 

10 lease sale’’ means an oil and gas lease sale— 

11 (A) that is held by the Secretary in accord12 ance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), notwithstanding the re14 quirements of section 18 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

15 1344); 

16 (B) that, with respect to lease sales in the 

17 Gulf of Mexico region, offers the same lease form, 

18 lease terms, economic conditions, and stipula19 tions as contained in the final notice of sale enti20 tled ‘‘Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

21 and Gas Lease Sale 257’’ (86 Fed. Reg. 54728 

22 (October 4, 2021)); and 

23 (C) that, if any acceptable bids have been 

24 received for any tract offered in the lease sale, re25 sults in the issuance of leases within 90 days of 


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1 the sale to the highest bids on the tracts offered, 

2 subject to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage3 ment ‘‘Summary of Procedures for Determining 

4 Bid Adequacy at Offshore Oil and Gas Lease 

5 Sales Effective March 2016, with Central Gulf of 

6 Mexico Sale 241 and Eastern Gulf of Mexico 

7 Sale 226’’. 

8 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive any other re11 quirements under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

12 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) that would delay final ap13 proval of an offshore lease sale under subsection (c). 

14 (c) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding section 18 of the 

15 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), the 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 (1) conduct not fewer than 13 offshore lease sales 

18 during the 5-year period beginning on the date of en19 actment of this Act, including 10 lease sales in the 

20 Gulf of Mexico region and 3 lease sales in the Cook 

21 Inlet Planning Area, notwithstanding lease sales 

22 which are held under the 2024–2029 Proposed Final 

23 Program (88 Fed. Reg. 67798 (October 2, 2023)); and 

24 (2) ensure that the 2017–2022 Outer Continental 

25 Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program Final ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Mar 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5616.RH H5616

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1 grammatic Environmental Impact Statement and 

2 Record of Decision shall apply to lease sales con3 ducted under this subsection and shall be sufficient 

4 for purposes of complying with the National Environ5 mental Policy Act for offshore lease sales conducted 

6 under this subsection to the extent it does not conflict 

7 with this Act. 

8 (d) TIMING.— 

9 (1) GULF OF MEXICO REGION.—In conducting 

10 the offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico region re11 quired under subsection (c), the Secretary shall con12 duct an offshore lease sale not later than— 

13 (A) March 31, 2024; 

14 (B) August 31, 2024; 

15 (C) March 31, 2025; 

16 (D) August 31, 2025; 

17 (E) March 31, 2026; 

18 (F) August 31, 2026; 

19 (G) March 31, 2027; 

20 (H) August 31, 2027; 

21 (I) March 31, 2028; and 

22 (J) August 31, 2028. 

23 (2) COOK INLET PLANNING AREA.—In con24 ducting the offshore lease sales in the Cook Inlet PlanVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Mar 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5616.RH H5616

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1 ning Area required under subsection (c), the Secretary 

2 shall conduct an offshore lease sale not later than— 

3 (A) August 31, 2025; 

4 (B) March 31, 2027; and 

5 (C) August 31, 2028. 

6 (e) AREA OFFERED FOR LEASE.— 

7 (1) ACREAGE.—The Secretary shall offer not 

8 fewer than 80,000,000 acres for each offshore lease 

9 sale conducted under subsection (c) for offshore lease 

10 sales in the Gulf of Mexico Region. The Secretary 

11 shall offer not fewer than 1,000,000 acres for each re12 gion wide lease sale conducted under subsection (c) in 

13 the Cook Inlet Planning Area. 

14 (2) LOCATION.—An offshore lease sale conducted 

15 under subsection (c)— 

16 (A) in the Gulf of Mexico region shall offer 

17 the areas identified in Figure S–1 of the 2017– 

18 2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leas19 ing Proposed Final Program published on No20 vember 18, 2016, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

21 Management (as announced in the notice of 

22 availability of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

23 Management entitled ‘‘Notice of Availability of 

24 the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 


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1 Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program’’ (81 Fed. 

2 Reg. 84612 (November 23, 2016))); and 

3 (B) in the Cook Inlet Planning Area shall 

4 offer the areas identified in Figure S–2 of the 

5 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas 

6 Leasing Proposed Final Program published on 

7 November 18, 2016, by the Bureau of Ocean En8 ergy Management (as announced in the notice of 

9 availability of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

10 Management entitled ‘‘Notice of Availability of 

11 the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 

12 Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program’’ (81 Fed. 

13 Reg. 84612 (November 23, 2016))). 

14 (f) EFFECT OF LITIGATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A civil action challenging an 

16 offshore lease sale conducted under this section shall 

17 not— 

18 (A) affect the validity of any lease issued 

19 under such an offshore lease sale; and 

20 (B) except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), 

21 cause a delay in the timelines for the consider22 ation of any exploration plan, development plan, 

23 development operations coordination document, 

24 applications for permit to drill, or other applica25 tion for a Federal agency authorization or apVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Mar 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5616.RH H5616

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1 proval for activities on a lease issued under such 

2 an offshore lease sale. 

3 (2) REMAND; PROCESSING OF APPROVALS AND

4 APPLICATIONS.—If, in a civil action described in 

5 paragraph (1), a court finds that the offshore lease 

6 sale was not carried out in compliance with Federal 

7 law— 

8 (A) the court shall not— 

9 (i) set aside, vacate, or enjoin the off10 shore lease sale; 

11 (ii) set aside, vacate, or enjoin the 

12 leases issued pursuant to the offshore lease 

13 sale; or 

14 (iii) enjoin the Secretary from issuing 

15 leases to the highest bidders in the chal16 lenged offshore lease sale; 

17 (B) the court shall remand the matter to the 

18 Secretary and require the Secretary to correct 

19 the noncompliance; and 

20 (C) the Secretary shall continue to process 

21 all exploration plans, development plans, devel22 opment operations coordination documents, ap23 plications for a permit to drill, and other appli24 cations for a Federal agency authorization or 

25 other approval for activities requested under any 


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1 lease issued under the challenged offshore lease 

2 sale in accordance with the Outer Continental 

3 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

4 (3) NOTICE.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days 

6 after the date on which a civil action described 

7 in paragraph (1) is served on the United States, 

8 the Secretary shall notify the holder of any lease 

9 issued, or apparent high bidder if the lease has 

10 not yet been issued, under the offshore lease sale 

11 that is the subject of the civil action of the filing 

12 of the civil action. 

13 (B) TIMELINE.—Not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of receipt of a notice under sub15 paragraph (A), the holder of the lease may file 

16 with the Secretary, and the Secretary may ap17 prove, a request to pause the timeline with re18 spect to the term of the lease during any period 

19 in which the civil action is pending. 


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Union Calendar No. 333 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5616 

[Report No. 118–405] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 

certain offshore lease sales. 

MARCH 5, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS