Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) Lease Sales 2025–2027: BBG1 to BBG4, Side by Side
Congress now requires 30 oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) through 2040. Three have been held. This page puts every result side by side with its source, explains what changed, and shows how a lease turns into subsea, ROV and diving work years later.
Three Gulf lease sales under the 2025 budget law have drawn about $430 million in high bids combined: BBG1 (December 2025) $300.4M for 181 blocks[1], BBG2 (March 2026) $47.0M for 25 blocks[2], and BBG3 (August 12, 2026) $82.7M for 59 blocks[3][4]. All leases carry a 12.5% royalty[4]. The fourth sale, BBG4, is proposed for bid opening on March 10, 2027[6].
01. Why there are suddenly so many Gulf lease sales
The 2025 budget reconciliation law (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which the Interior Department now calls the Working Families Tax Cut Act) requires a schedule of 30 Gulf of America lease sales through 2040[3][5]. Before it, the Gulf had gone two years without a sale: BBG1 in December 2025 was the first since 2023[7].
The sales follow a regular March / August rhythm[5]. Each offers essentially the whole unleased federal Gulf – about 15,100 blocks and 80.4 million acres in the Western, Central and parts of the Eastern planning areas, from 3 to 231 miles offshore and from 9 feet to more than 11,100 feet of water[4].
02. Results side by side: BBG1, BBG2, BBG3
Every number below is a high bid figure: the total of the top bid on each block. BOEM can still reject bids it judges too low, so final accepted totals may be slightly smaller.
| Sale | Date | High bids | Blocks | Companies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBG1[1][7] | Dec 10, 2025 | $300,425,222 | 181 | 30 (219 bids) | BP most active; top single bid $18.5M by Chevron (Keathley Canyon 25) |
| BBG2[2] | Mar 11, 2026 | $46,976,423 | 25 | 13 (38 bids) | ~141,000 acres; total bids $69.8M; down about 84% from BBG1 |
| BBG3[3][4] | Aug 12, 2026 | $82,689,756 | 59 | 16 (69 bids) | ~330,150 acres; total bids $99.5M; first sale run by the Marine Minerals Administration |
| BBG4[6] | Mar 10, 2027 (proposed) | — | 15,104 offered | — | Proposed notice published Oct 9, 2026; 12.5% royalty |
High-bid totals as published by BOEM / Interior and trade press. BBG1 was first reported at $279.4M and later revised to $300.4M.
BBG1’s high bidders by number of blocks were BP (50), Chevron (22), Murphy (14) and Shell (12)[8]. Reuters, cited by Marine Log, noted that companies bid more per acre than at any Gulf auction since 2017, even though the total was about $100 million below the last sale in 2023[7].
03. How to read the drop after BBG1
A falling dollar total does not by itself mean the Gulf is losing interest. Three things are worth separating:
- •Pent-up demand. BBG1 came after a two-year gap, so it absorbed blocks companies had been waiting to bid on. Later sales draw from what is left.
- •Frequency. With two sales a year, a company no longer has to bid on everything at once. Bids spread out over time.
- •Targeting. Bidding has concentrated near existing hubs. Wood Mackenzie described BBG1 as a “targeted” sale[9]. Blocks close to a host platform can be developed as tiebacks, which is cheaper than a new standalone facility.
BBG3 recovered to roughly 76% above BBG2, with more than twice as many blocks, but stayed well below BBG1[5].
04. From lease to subsea work: what actually follows a sale
A lease sale creates rights, not jobs. Work for subsea contractors, ROV crews and divers arrives in stages, often years after the bid:
| Stage | Typical subsea / marine work | Who it touches |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lease awarded | Desk work: seismic reprocessing, permitting | Geoscience, regulatory consultants |
| 2. Site survey | Geophysical and geohazard surveys, AUV/ROV seabed mapping | Survey vessels, AUV/ROV operators |
| 3. Exploration / appraisal well | Rig support, ROV well intervention, BOP inspections | Work-class ROV crews |
| 4. Development decision | Tieback engineering, flowline and umbilical design | SURF engineering contractors |
| 5. Installation | Pipelay, jumper and manifold installation, tie-ins | Construction vessels, ROV, saturation divers on shallower hosts |
| 6. Production life | Inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) | ROV, air and saturation divers |
| 7. End of life | Plugging and abandonment, platform removal | Decommissioning contractors, divers |
General sequence for illustration. Timing varies widely by field, water depth and operator; no single published lead time applies to every lease.
That is why lease results are a long-range signal. Near-term work depends more on projects already sanctioned. EIA’s September 2026 outlook puts federal Gulf crude output at about 2.00 million b/d in 2026 and 1.89 million b/d in 2027, as natural declines resume after new fields come online[10]. Keeping output flat requires a steady flow of tiebacks – see our 20K subsea tieback overview.
05. What to watch before BBG4
- •Final Notice of Sale. It must be published at least 30 days before the March 10, 2027 bid opening[6]. Check for any change to blocks offered or lease terms.
- •BBG3 final bid recap. BOEM issues accept/reject decisions over about three months after a sale; BBG3 phase-2 notices ran from September 11 to October 21, 2026[3].
- •Resource base. Interior estimates the Gulf OCS holds 26.90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 45.59 trillion cubic feet of gas[4] – an estimate, not proven reserves.
- •Where bids cluster. Blocks near existing deepwater hosts point to future tieback and IMR work along the Louisiana corridor (Port Fourchon, Houma, Morgan City).
06. Frequently Asked Questions
How many Gulf of America lease sales are required? ↓
The 2025 budget law requires 30 Gulf of America oil and gas lease sales through 2040, held on a regular March and August schedule. Three had been held by August 2026.
How much did the Big Beautiful Gulf lease sales raise? ↓
BBG1 (December 2025) drew $300.4 million in high bids for 181 blocks, BBG2 (March 2026) $47.0 million for 25 blocks, and BBG3 (August 12, 2026) $82.7 million for 59 blocks.
When is the next Gulf of America lease sale? ↓
BBG4 is proposed for bid opening on March 10, 2027. The proposed notice of sale was published on October 9, 2026; a final notice must appear at least 30 days before the sale.
What royalty rate applies to new Gulf leases? ↓
12.5% for all water depths, the minimum allowed under the 2025 law.
Do lease sales create subsea jobs right away? ↓
No. A lease gives the right to explore. Survey, drilling, installation and IMR work follow over several years, and only if a discovery is developed. Near-term subsea work depends mainly on projects already sanctioned.
Sources
- [1]BOEM — Big Beautiful Gulf 1 (BBG1) Oil & Gas Lease Sale
- [2]U.S. Department of the Interior — Second lease sale in the Gulf of America (Mar 2026)
- [3]BOEM — Big Beautiful Gulf 3 (BBG3) Oil & Gas Lease Sale
- [4]U.S. Department of the Interior — Third Gulf of America lease sale (Aug 12, 2026)
- [5]Offshore Magazine — Big Beautiful Gulf 3 generates $82.7 million in high bids (Aug 2026)
- [6]Baird Maritime — US proposes fourth Gulf of America lease sale, 15,104 blocks (Oct 2026)
- [7]Marine Log — Big Beautiful Gulf 1 generates over $300M in high bids (Dec 2025)
- [8]Offshore Magazine — BOEM conducts Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1 (Dec 2025)
- [9]Wood Mackenzie — BBG1 lease sale shows ‘targeted’ approach in new leasing era
- [10]Rigzone — EIA raises USA oil production forecasts for 2026, 2027 (Sept 2026 STEO)
All sources accessed November 1, 2026. Figures are as published by each source; agency pages may be revised after publication.
Related
Independent information, not investment, legal or engineering advice. Gulf Coast Subsea is an independent directory. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any company or agency mentioned on this page. Figures are compiled from public sources and labeled by source and date. Confirm current terms directly with BOEM, BSEE and the companies involved.