Lift the moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal land and offshore
Lift the moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal land and offshore.
Occurrences
Evidence
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BLM announced a July 14, 2026 oil and gas lease sale offering 66 parcels totaling 29,087 acres in Montana and North Dakota. The notice says leasing is the first step in developing federal oil and gas resources and that the agency is continuing its regular lease-sale process.
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BOEM's BBG2 lease-sale page shows the agency held the March 11, 2026 offshore lease sale and posted Phase 2 acceptance updates through May 13, 2026. The page states the sale is one of thirty Gulf of America lease sales required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and lists current sale documents and bid-evaluation materials.
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Executive Order 14008 directed the Secretary of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending a comprehensive review of federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices.
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Executive Order 14154 states U.S. policy is to encourage energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters, including the Outer Continental Shelf. The order also revokes Executive Order 14008, which had directed the leasing pause.
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Public Law 119-21 requires the Interior Secretary to conduct at least four oil and gas lease sales each fiscal year in Montana and other listed states and to offer at least 50 percent of available nominated parcels in those sales.
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The law requires a minimum of 30 Gulf of America region-wide offshore oil and gas lease sales, including at least one by December 15, 2025 and two per year from 2026 through 2039, plus Cook Inlet offshore lease sales in Alaska.
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The House Clerk records H.R. 1 passing on July 3, 2025 by 218-214 on the motion to concur in the Senate amendment. The vote list shows Ryan Zinke, Republican of Montana, voted Aye.
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Interior said it was implementing H.R. 1 by requiring Gulf offshore lease sales, resuming Alaska offshore leasing, requiring quarterly onshore lease sales, reducing royalty rates, and requiring BLM to lease nominated parcels within 18 months.
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BLM announced an oil and gas lease sale scheduled for July 14, 2026, offering 66 parcels totaling 29,087 acres in Montana and North Dakota, with public comment and protest periods completed or scheduled before the sale.
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BOEM says BBG2 is the second of thirty Gulf oil and gas lease sales required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. BOEM held the sale on March 11, 2026, generating high bids for 25 blocks across about 141,000 acres in federal waters.
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On September 8, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office published protest decisions, final NEPA documentation, Findings of No Significant Impact, and Decision Records for the Quarter 3 2026 BLM NM/OK/TX/KS Lease Sale, with supporting documents available through BLM ePlanning links.
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The Department of the Interior announced that Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 3 generated $82,689,756 in high bids for 59 blocks in federal waters of the Gulf of America, with 16 companies submitting 69 bids totaling $99,476,285. DOI also said MMA offered about 15,100 unleased blocks covering roughly 80.4 million acres.
Assessments
The promised outcome was achieved during Zinke's current federal House term. The Biden-era federal onshore/offshore leasing pause was reversed by Executive Order 14154, and Congress later enacted Public Law 119-21 requiring recurring onshore lease sales, including in Montana, and repeated Gulf/Cook Inlet offshore lease sales. Zinke voted Aye on the enacted H.R. 1 package, giving him federal legislative credit for materially advancing the statutory leasing restart, and subsequent 2026 BLM and BOEM lease activity confirms both federal-land and offshore leasing proceeded.
The promised outcome was to lift the moratorium on federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing. The evidence shows both categories are now actively proceeding during Zinke's current federal term: BLM announced a July 14, 2026 federal oil and gas lease sale for Montana and North Dakota parcels, and BOEM held a March 11, 2026 offshore Gulf lease sale with continuing bid-evaluation updates. That is inconsistent with an ongoing moratorium and satisfies the substantive promise in the relevant federal-office context.