The Trump administration has rolled out a more than 14-year schedule for auctioning off oil and gas drilling rights off the coast of the United States, reversing course on the dramatic slowdown of lease sales under the Biden administration.

The schedule, released by the Interior Department on Tuesday, was mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed earlier this summer and focused solely on drilling in southern Alaska waters and the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has renamed the Gulf of America. 

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“The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a landmark step toward unleashing America’s energy potential,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re putting in place a bold, long-term program that strengthens American Energy Dominance, creates good-paying jobs, and ensures we continue to responsibly develop our offshore resources.” 

At least 30 lease sales in the two regions are scheduled between December 2025 and March 2040. 

This is a dramatic shift from the five-year leasing strategy utilized under the administration of former President Joe Biden, which sought to reduce offshore drilling as part of its broader transition to cleaner energy sources. Under Biden, only three lease sales were scheduled between 2024 and 2029.

The Interior Department has said the schedule will provide “much-needed clarity and stability” to the oil and gas industry.

The first sale for drilling rights in the Gulf, titled “Big Beautiful Gulf 1,” is scheduled for Dec. 10 this year. Throughout 2025, there are no auctions scheduled for Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

At least six auctions will take place in Cook Inlet, located just south of Anchorage, through 2032.

Those are scheduled for March 2026, 2027, 2028, 2030, 2031, and 2032. Meanwhile, lease sales in the Gulf are expected to occur in March and August every year until 2040. 

Unlike the Gulf region, there has been little interest in drilling in Alaska’s Cook Inlet in recent years. Early lease sales held for the inlet between 2004 and 2015 were all either canceled due to a lack of industry interest or received no bids. 

During the last lease sale held in the region in 2022, independent oil and gas producer Hilcorp Alaska LLC was the sole bidder. A federal judge ultimately overturned the congressionally mandated sale to allow for additional environmental review. 

It has yet to be seen whether this schedule will result in increased exploration and drilling activities in either region, though several industry groups were left encouraged by the announcement. 

“This schedule of predictable offshore oil and gas leases for the Gulf and Alaska is a welcome return to the regulatory certainty required to maximize and foster investment in American energy,” Consumer Energy Alliance Vice President Kaitlin Hammons said.

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National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito praised the schedule, saying it gives companies “certainty to invest” while sustaining jobs. 

“This leasing schedule reaches far beyond the Gulf Coast. Offshore energy supports workers and supply chains in every state, while revenues fund programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund delivering resources to every county in every state in America,” Milito continued. “With this schedule in place, the Gulf of America will continue to anchor our economy, bolster national security, and support communities across all 50 states.”