Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and maintain a schedule of proposed OCS oil and gas lease sales to “meet national energy needs for the 5-year period following its approval.”

To fulfill this requirement, the Minerals Management Services engages in a multi-step process to prepare a new Five-Year Program to follow the current one ending on June 30, 2007.  The schedule of OCS lease sales within the period 2007-2012 includes one proposed lease sales in the Atlantic OCS.  This Draft Proposed Program was published in the Federal Register on February 10, 2006, and will be open for comment for 60 days.  Additional information regarding MMS leasing procedures can be found in the MMS Leasing Handbook.

There are four planning areas in the Atlantic OCS—North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florida.  The draft proposed program proposes focused interest sales in the Mid-Atlantic in late 2011, starting with a request for nominations and comments.  The area proposed for consideration is in the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area off the coastline of Virginia.  There have not been any lease sales in the Atlantic since the early 1980’s and, at this time, there are no active leases and therefore no activity.

Prior to any activity off the Atlantic seaboard, a multi-step process is initiated that involves review of all activities at many levels with multiple opportunities for involvement by interested parties.  The development of the proposed Five-Year Program, noted above, is followed by an exhaustive analysis of the program and is documented in the 5-year Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  Each individual sale identified in the Five-Year Program then undergoes specific environmental analysis in a lease sale EIS (or an Environmental Assessment that is ‘tiered’ off a lease sale EIS).  The lease sale EIS is tailored for the proposed sale area and the development scenarios expected from the lease sale.  If a lease sale is held and leases awarded, then a new phase of environmental review begins.  Prior to any offshore activity, the lessee must submit for review and approval a detailed exploration plan that outlines all activities on the leased block.  If an economically recoverable resource is found during exploratory drilling, then a detailed Development and Production Plan is assembled for review by MMS.  During exploratory drilling and production, operations are routinely examined by MMS inspectors to ensure adherence to regulations.

Additional information on oil and gas leasing activities in the Atlantic can be found within Frequently Asked Questions.