Federal officials are forging ahead with plans for a second oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, while environmentalists contend that the push to expand drilling runs afoul of environmental laws.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which is part of the Interior Department, scheduled a lease sale Wednesday called the “Big Beautiful Gulf” for March 11, 2026.
The sale would be the second in the region during President Donald Trump’s second term, with the first sale scheduled to happen Dec. 10.
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Both sales will make available around 80 million offshore acres on the outer continental shelf, stretching from Texas toward the east.
