On March 11, 2026, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold an oil and gas lease sale that covers over 80 million acres of the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, according to E&E News.

The sale does not include certain areas off Florida’s western coastline where lease sales are off limits until 2032.

More oil and gas lease sales are expected in the Gulf of Mexico; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires 30 lease sales in the Gulf before the end of 2040. At least two lease sales are expected in the Gulf of Mexico each year until 2039. The act also requires six auctions in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

In December 2025, a lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico auctioned off 80 million acres in federal waters and saw 30 companies submit more than 200 bids for oil and gas production.