The Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) announced, in a statement posted on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) website recently, the availability of a Proposed Notice of Sale for Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 2, or BBC2.
This is the second offshore oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet required by the Working Families Tax Cut Act of 2025, the statement noted, adding that the proposed sale would make approximately 1.05 million acres available for leasing in the northern portion of the Cook Inlet Planning Area. This is the same area offered in the Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1 sale, held in March 2026, the statement pointed out.
The proposed lease area includes 224 blocks stretching roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south, the MMA statement revealed.
The MMA outlined in its statement that, on Tuesday, it sent the Proposed Notice of Sale to the governor of Alaska and published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. This step began a 60-day regulatory review period for the state and affected local governments to submit comments and recommendations on the proposed sale’s size, timing, and location, the statement revealed, noting that the MMA will consider those comments and recommendations before issuing a Final Notice of Sale.
The Proposed Notice of Sale includes the proposed size, timing, and location of the sale, as well as lease stipulations, terms and conditions, minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates, the statement said.
“To encourage strong industry participation and support investment in domestic energy production, the proposed terms include a 12.5 percent royalty rate,” the MMA highlighted.
MMA will publish a Final Notice of Sale in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the scheduled bid opening, the statement said.
“Alaska remains central to America’s energy future, and Cook Inlet is an important part of that opportunity,” MMA Acting Director Mike Olsen noted in the statement.
“The BBC2 sale continues MMA’s work to carry out a predictable, congressionally mandated leasing schedule that supports domestic energy production, strengthens national readiness, and provides a transparent process for the State of Alaska, local governments, and industry,” he added.
The MMA statement highlighted that 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act requires the MMA to hold at least six offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Cook Inlet Planning Area – one each year from 2026 through 2028, and one each year from 2030 through 2032. The BBC2 sale is scheduled for March 2027, the statement revealed.
A notice issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on the U.S. Federal Register on October 9 announced a revision to the DOI’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures, adding a new categorical exclusion (CE) for National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) wintertime oil and gas exploration activities to the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2: Bureau Categorical Exclusions.
The notice outlined that the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures now lists – under a section on oil, gas, and geothermal energy as part of a section on the Bureau of Land Management – the following actions as eligible for CE; “approval of seismic surveys, applications for permit to drill, and grants of rights of way for wintertime oil and gas exploration activities within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A”).
Covered activities include “vibroseis seismic methods”, “construction of temporary ice road and snow routes for access”, “construction of ice pads, use of camps, and associated support equipment”, and “water withdrawals and associated access”, the notice outlined.
This notice also highlighted that “appraisal or delineation activities (drilling of wells and sidetracks from existing wells), well stimulation equipment, well testing (e.g., flow tests), well suspension, and plugging, and/or abandonment”, and “helicopter-assisted summer cleanup activities associated with the prior winter drilling season” were covered.
“The Department and the BLM find that the categories of actions described in the CE being added to DOI’s NEPA implementing procedures normally do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment,” the notice stated.
“This finding is based on the BLM’s long history of authorizing, regulating, and monitoring winter oil and gas exploration activities in the NPR-A, which demonstrates that winter operations – conducted on ice infrastructure, under Required Operating Procedures (ROPs), and within required environmental safeguards – do not produce significant or lasting environmental impacts,” it added.
“Ongoing improvements in technology, operational practices, and community engagement further reinforce the limited nature of these impacts,” it continued.
The Sierra Club criticized the Trump administration’s “decision to bypass environmental reviews for Arctic oil drilling” in a statement posted on its website on October 8.
In a statement posted on BOEM’s website back in January, BOEM announced the Final Notice of Sale for the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 1, “as part of a broader effort to unleash American energy by encouraging oil and gas exploration and production on federal lands and waters”.
“Officially authorized under the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ and commonly known as BBC1, this marks the first of six lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet required by the legislation,” BOEM noted at the time.
Lease terms for the sale included a 10-year primary term, a minimum bonus bid of $25 per hectare, and a 12.5 percent royalty rate, that statement revealed.
“Regular and predictable federal leasing is the minimum standard for maintaining domestic energy production,” BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said at the time.
“Energy security is national security, and this sale reflects a clear, congressionally mandated path forward for Cook Inlet leasing,” he added.
“By offering predictable terms and a transparent process, we are supporting Alaska’s role in meeting America’s energy needs, strengthening national readiness and creating opportunities for investment and jobs,” he continued.
An overview of the BBC1 lease sale hosted on BOEM’s website shows that, as of March 4, no bids had been received for the sale.
“In accordance with OBBBA, we will continue to hold leasing opportunities for Cook Inlet so that industry has a regular, predictable federal leasing schedule that ensures we achieve President Trump’s American Energy Dominance Agenda,” the overview page noted.
BOEM’s website highlights that, as of July 10, 2026, the DOI reunified BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) into the MMA. The MMA “will oversee the responsible development of the nation’s offshore energy and marine mineral resources with an integrated focus on safety, environmental protection, and efficient oversight,” BOEM’s site states.
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