[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14881-14885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06109]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2016-0003]


Notice of Availability (NOA) of and Request for Comments on the 
2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed 
Program MAA104000

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of, and requests comments 
on, the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing 
Proposed Program (Proposed Program). This proposal is the second of 
three proposals for the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program that 
will succeed the current, 2012-2017 Program. The Proposed Program 
provides information and analyses to inform the Secretary of the 
Interior's (Secretary) decision on the size, timing, and location of 
leasing in the 2017-2022 Program.
    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) specifies a multi-
step process of consultation and analysis that must be completed before 
the Secretary may approve a new Five-Year Program. The required steps 
following this notice include the development of a Proposed Final 
Program (PFP) analysis and Secretarial decision. In conjunction with 
this notice, BOEM is publishing the Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) for the 2017-2022 Program, which was prepared 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

DATES: Please submit comments and information to BOEM no later than 
June 16, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kelly Hammerle, Five-Year Program 
Manager, at (703) 787-1613 or [email protected].

Public Comment Procedure

    BOEM will accept comments in one of two formats: Via the Federal 
internet commenting system at http://www.regulations.gov or through the 
U.S. mail. Comments submitted by other means may not be considered. 
BOEM's preference is to receive comments via the internet commenting 
system. Comments should be submitted using only one of these formats, 
and the full name and address of the individual submitting the 
comment(s) should be included. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    In order to ensure security and confidentiality of proprietary 
information to the maximum extent possible, BOEM requests that 
proprietary information only be sent by U.S. mail. In addition to 
prominently stating that proprietary information is contained in a 
comment at the beginning of the submission, comments should be sent in 
a plain outer envelope with an inner envelope stating that proprietary 
information is contained within.

Commenting via Internet

    Internet comments should be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. BOEM requests that commenters 
follow these instructions to submit their comments via this Web site:
    (1) In the search tab on the main regulations.gov page, search for 
BOEM-2016-0003.
    (2) Locate the document, then click the ``Submit a Comment'' link 
either on the Search Results page or the Document Details page. This 
will display the Web comment form.
    (3) Enter the submitter information and type the comment on the Web 
form. Attach any additional files (up to 10 MB). (BOEM cannot ensure 
the security or confidentiality of information sent via the internet; 
therefore such information should be provided by U.S. mail as provided 
in the Public Comment Procedure section of this notice.)
    (4) After typing the comment, click the ``Preview Comment'' link to 
review. Once satisfied with the comment, click the ``Submit'' button to 
send the comment.

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    Information on using regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after 
the close of the comment period, is available through the site's ``User 
Tips'' link.

Commenting via U.S. Mail

    Comments and information on the 2017-2022 Program should be mailed 
to Ms. Kelly Hammerle, Five-Year Program Manager, BOEM, 45600 Woodland 
Road, VAM-LD, Sterling, Virginia 20166.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM requests comments from states, local 
governments, Federal agencies, Native groups, tribes, the oil and gas 
industry, environmental and other public interest organizations, non-
energy industries, all other interested parties, and the public to 
assist in the continued preparation of the 2017-2022 Program. The 
Proposed Program and supplemental information may be viewed on and 
downloaded from the BOEM Web site at www.BOEM.gov/Five-Year-Program-2017-2022. Additionally, information on the development of the PEIS can 
be found at www.boemoceaninfo.com.

Background

    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary to prepare 
and maintain a schedule of proposed OCS oil and gas lease sales 
determined to ``best meet national energy needs for the 5-year period 
following its approval or reapproval.'' This Proposed Program is the 
second of three proposed leasing schedules for OCS lease sales under 
the 2017-2022 Program. The first proposal, the Draft Proposed Program 
(DPP), was published on January 29, 2015, and was followed by a 60-day 
comment period that ended on March 30, 2015.
    The areas identified in the Proposed Program were chosen after 
careful consideration of the factors specified in Section 18 of the OCS 
Lands Act and the comments received during the DPP comment period. 
Included in this Proposed Program is an analysis of the lease sale 
options identified by the Secretary in the DPP. The development of the 
Five-Year Program is a winnowing process; thus, only those areas that 
the Secretary decided were appropriate to include in the DPP are 
analyzed in the Proposed Program and the associated Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). Hereafter, only the OCS areas 
that the Secretary includes in the Proposed Program lease sale schedule 
will be analyzed in the Proposed Final Program (PFP) and in the Final 
PEIS. Inclusion of an area at the DPP or Proposed Program phase does 
not mean that it will be included in the Program or offered in a lease 
sale because steps still remain for reducing or removing areas or lease 
sales from leasing consideration.
    Before the new Program is approved and implemented, BOEM will 
accept and consider comments on the Proposed Program and issue a PFP 
for public review, accompanied by the Final PEIS.

Summary of the Proposed Program

    As part of the Administration's energy strategy, the Proposed 
Program continues the tailored leasing strategy set forth in the 
current 2012-2017 Program that takes into account regional differences 
in developing the proposed lease sale schedule. In weighing the Section 
18 factors to develop a nationwide program, region-specific information 
was taken into account, including information about resource potential; 
the status of resource development and infrastructure to support oil 
and gas activities and emergency response capabilities; recognition of 
regional interests and concerns; and the need to balance the 
development of offshore oil and gas resources with protection of the 
marine, coastal, and human environments. Further, for preparation of 
the Proposed Program, robust consideration was given to the substantial 
stakeholder dialogue and public comments that stemmed from publication 
of the DPP.
    After careful consideration of public input and examination of the 
OCS Lands Act Section 18(a)(2) factors, the Proposed Program proposes 
lease sales in OCS areas that have high oil and gas resource values, 
while recognizing potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts, 
concerns, and competing uses of ocean and coastal areas. In total, the 
Proposed Program makes available for leasing areas that contain over 70 
percent of the undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas 
resources estimated to exist on the OCS. The Proposed Program contains 
a proposed lease sale schedule that includes 13 sales in six OCS 
planning areas where there are currently existing leases and known or 
anticipated hydrocarbon potential (see Table 1 below).

         Table 1--2017-2022 Proposed Program Lease Sale Schedule
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             Year                       Planning area           Sale No.
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1. 2017.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        249
2. 2018.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        250
3. 2018.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        251
4. 2019.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        252
5. 2019.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        253
6. 2020.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        254
7. 2020.......................  Beaufort Sea.................        255
8. 2020.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        256
9. 2021.......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        257
10. 2021......................  Cook Inlet...................        258
11. 2021......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        259
12. 2022......................  Gulf of Mexico...............        261
13. 2022......................  Chukchi Sea..................        262
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Gulf of Mexico Region

    The GOM combines the most abundant proven and estimated oil and gas 
resources, broad industry interest, and well-developed infrastructure. 
The oil and gas resource potential of the Western and Central GOM, as 
well as the portion of the Eastern GOM not subject to Congressional 
moratorium, is the best understood of all of the OCS planning areas. 
Not only are the oil and gas resource volume estimates for the GOM OCS 
unparalleled, the GOM area has mature infrastructure to support the 
development of oil and gas activities and provide response capabilities 
in the event of an emergency.
    In considering and balancing the Section 18 factors, the Proposed 
Program is tailored to support development commensurate with the 
presence and maturity, or lack thereof, of offshore oil and gas 
activity. Of the 13 lease sales included in the Proposed Program, 10 
are in the GOM, where infrastructure is best-established, and there is 
strong adjacent state support and significant oil and gas resource 
potential. The GOM proposal identified for further detailed analysis in 
the Proposed Final Program and the Final PEIS includes region-wide 
sales: one sale in 2017 and 2022, and two sales in 2018, 2019, 2020, 
and 2021 (see Table 1).
    In the past, BOEM has scheduled separate annual sales, generally 
alternating between the Western and Central GOM, and periodic sales in 
the portion of the Eastern GOM not under Congressional moratorium. This 
Proposed Program considers region-wide sales comprised of the combined 
Western, Central, and Eastern GOM planning areas' unleased acreage not 
subject to moratoria or otherwise unavailable (see Figure 1). BOEM is 
proposing this change to provide greater flexibility to industry, 
including more frequent opportunities to bid on rejected, relinquished, 
or expired OCS lease blocks, as well as facilitating better planning to 
explore resources that may

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straddle the U.S.-Mexico boundary. Any individual sale could be scaled 
back during the lease sale process to conform more closely to the 
traditional separate planning area model should circumstances warrant. 
Further, the Proposed Final Program will analyze, as an option, the 
traditional, separate planning area model, which includes five sales in 
the Western GOM and five in the combined Central/Eastern GOM not 
subject to moratoria or otherwise unavailable. A 15-mile no-leasing 
buffer south of Baldwin County, Alabama, as requested by the OCS 
Governors Coalition in a letter to which the Governor of Alabama was a 
signatory, will also continue to be analyzed in the PFP.

Alaska Region

    In Alaska, the Proposed Program continues to take a balanced 
approach to development, utilizing the targeted leasing strategy set 
forth in the 2012-2017 Program by identifying one potential lease sale 
each in the Beaufort Sea (2020), Cook Inlet (2021), and Chukchi Sea 
(2022) planning areas (see Figure 2). These potential sales in the 
three Alaska program areas are currently scheduled later in the 
Proposed Program to provide additional opportunity to evaluate and 
obtain information regarding environmental issues, subsistence use 
needs, and infrastructure capabilities, as well as results from any 
exploration or development activity associated with existing leases. 
Consistent with what was set forth in the 2012-2017 Program, BOEM will 
continue to use scientific information and stakeholder feedback to 
proactively determine, in advance of any potential sale under the 2017-
2022 Program, which specific areas offer the greatest resource 
potential, while minimizing potential conflicts with environmental, 
subsistence, and other uses.
    The Proposed Program includes a potential Beaufort Sea sale in 
2020. Using input from the PEIS public scoping process, as well as a 
thorough review of available scientific information, including 
traditional knowledge, BOEM is considering whether environmentally 
important areas--such as Cross Island, Barrow Canyon, Camden Bay, an 
additional area near the existing Kaktovik withdrawal, and other areas 
identified in the PEIS--merit additional mitigation or protection 
during the subsequent phases of the 2017-2022 Program development and/
or the lease sale process. The Proposed Program analyzes an option to 
advance the Beaufort lease sale to 2019, in light of the Governor of 
Alaska's request to advance the sale.
    The Proposed Program includes a potential Chukchi Sea sale in 2022. 
Using input from the PEIS, BOEM will continue to consider potential 
mitigation or exclusion areas, such as areas near Hanna Shoal that 
include a walrus foraging area and movement corridor, during the 
subsequent phases of both the 2017-2022 Program development and/or the 
lease sale process.
    A potential lease sale is scheduled for 2021 in the Cook Inlet 
Program Area that includes the northern portion of the Cook Inlet 
Planning Area (see Figure 2). The design of this lease sale balances 
the protection of endangered species, for example, taking into account 
the beluga whale and the northern sea otter critical habitat, as 
identified in 2013 in the Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244 Area 
Identification, with the availability for leasing of the areas with 
industry interest and significant oil and gas resource potential. BOEM 
will continue to consider potential mitigation or exclusion of areas, 
such as the beluga whale critical habitat, and other environmentally-
sensitive areas, in subsequent steps of the Program development and/or 
lease sale process.

Atlantic Region

    After a robust public comment process, the Mid- and South Atlantic 
Program Area lease sale proposed for 2021 in the DPP has been removed 
from the Proposed Program for a number of reasons, including strong 
local opposition, conflicts with other ocean users, including the 
Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, 
and current market dynamics.
    The decision to remove the Atlantic from the 2017-2022 Program 
included careful consideration of the comments received from governors 
of affected states. In their responses to BOEM, both the Governors of 
Virginia and North Carolina acknowledged the developmental risks 
associated with an offshore oil and gas leasing program in the region 
and indicated that a revenue sharing program was necessary to offset 
these risks.

Pacific Region

    As in the DPP, no lease sale options have been identified in the 
Pacific Region for additional analysis.

Assurance of Fair Market Value

    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires receipt of fair market 
value from OCS oil and gas leases. BOEM plans to continue to use the 
two-phase post-sale bid evaluation process that it has used since 1983 
to meet the fair market value requirement. BOEM recently revised its 
post-sale bid evaluation process [see Summary of Procedures for 
Determining Bid Adequacy at Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales: Effective 
March 2016 at http://www.boem.gov/Summary-of-Procedures-For-Determining-Bid-Adequacy/]. Further, the Proposed Program provides that 
BOEM may set minimum bid levels, rental rates, and royalty rates by 
individual lease sale based on BOEM's assessment of market and resource 
conditions closer to the date of the sale.

Information Requested for the Proposed Program

    We request comments on the size, timing, and location of lease 
sales for offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities. 
Respondents who submitted information in earlier comment periods may 
wish to refer to that previously submitted information, as appropriate, 
rather than repeat it in their comments on the Proposed Program. We 
also invite comments and suggestions on how to proceed with the Section 
18 analysis in the Proposed Final Program.

Next Steps in the Process

    BOEM currently plans to issue the Proposed Final Program and Final 
PEIS in late 2016.

    Dated: March 14, 2016.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
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[FR Doc. 2016-06109 Filed 3-17-16; 8:45 am]
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