2025 OCS 5-year leasing plan

I just submitted our comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on their 5-year offshore oil leasing plan. You can read these below. I typically will spend a week or so critiquing the plans, citing lots of scientific and policy papers, and end up submitting 15 to 25 pages substantiating our concerns and arguments.

This time I didn’t feel the need – as explained somewhat in the letter. We know that if they decide to run with this plan, despite stiff opposition and public disapproval, they will use it to give the oilmen very lenient leases and block out offshore wind leasing areas.

We also know that they plan on leasing in the National Marine Sanctuaries – if for no other reason than to get in our faces – because getting in our faces is what seems to be driving a lot of the Administration’s policies at present.

You can submit your comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/BOEM-2025-0015-0003

You don’t need to get too complicated. But the deadline is 11:59pm, Monday June 16

Thanks for your interest!

Michael Stocker

Ms. Kelly Hammerle,

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (VAM-LD),

45600 Woodland Road,

Sterling, VA 20166-9216

Re: Comments for the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program

Dear Ms. Hammerle,

There was much work done by many in writing the 10th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2024 – 2029[1]. There was also a lot of work done in reviewing, critiquing, and revising the plan, which was approved in December of 2023 and reflected the needs of our economy, our environment, and the desires of the American People. So throwing all of those efforts out a year later so as to hew to the desires of the Administration shows deep disrespect for all of those who worked so hard on getting 2024 five-year plan approved.

The 2024 plan also reflected the public sentiment on offshore oil extraction after the complete failure of the Trump 2017 “drill on all coasts” leasing plan, which was rejected by 400 Atlantic municipalities, 58,000 businesses on the Atlantic, Pacific & Florida Gulf coasts, 500,000 fishing families and 2,300 elected officials representing both major political parties, and of course the American people.[2]

This was on the heels of the much more modest 2012-2017 five-year leasing plan, reflecting the public’s desire to bring down greenhouse gas contributions in concern for the expanding climate disaster we are facing from over a 100 years of reckless hydrocarbon expansion.

And while the Administration seems all jacked up on their “Drill, Baby, Drill” battle cry, even the oil industry is not focused on expanding their extraction operations. This is evidenced by the fact that of the 12 million acres leased to them in the Gulf of Mexico, only 20% are under production.[3] Over-producing fossil fuel does not really play to the advantage of the industry, who would rather keep prices above $65/bbl.

While Donald Trump is attempting to bully EU nations into buying our hydrocarbon overproduction, developing and producing offshore hydrocarbon extraction operations is exceedingly expensive for the industry, both in terms of time, and money. I suspect industry managers are weighing in the 10-year future where, depending on which way the political winds blow, they may be restricted from production due to the nation, and the world, having to finally face the realities of the expanding global climate disaster.

So Donald Trump’s declaration of an “Energy Emergency” is just another disruptive, manufactured crisis designed to set everyone off-balance to advantage wealthy players who are in on their inside game, at the expense of all other people – Americans, as well as world citizens, who all continue to suffer at the instability driven by these antics.

The 2025, 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program is just an artifact of this, and should not be encouraged.

Sincerely,

Michael Stocker

Director