Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025
The Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025 would greatly constrain the President’s ability to withdraw unleased areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from leasing and would nullify a number of prior presidential withdrawals. It amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to impose explicit limits on how much land can be withdrawn, how long withdrawals can last, and how much land can be withdrawn cumulatively without Congress’s approval. Before any future withdrawal can occur, the bill requires detailed geophysical/geological resource assessments, economic and national security value analyses, and estimates of lost Federal, state, and trust revenues, with these findings then reported to Congress. It also creates a streamlined congressional disapproval process (a fast-track joint resolution) that can block withdrawals, and it binds withdrawals to not conflict with areas identified in a 5-year oil and gas leasing program. In short, the bill shifts substantial decision-making outside the executive branch for offshore land withdrawals, requiring quantified analyses, Congressional oversight, and a defined approval pathway, while rolling back several past actions that had blocked leasing in certain offshore areas.
Key Points
- 1Nullification of listed presidential withdrawals: The bill states that several past withdrawals from unleased offshore land (covering Arctic, Atlantic, Gulf, and Northern Bering Sea areas, plus climate-resilience orders) would have no force or effect.
- 2New limits on presidential withdrawals:
- 3- Each withdrawal cannot exceed 150,000 acres.
- 4- A withdrawal cannot last more than 20 years.
- 5- The total cumulative withdrawals cannot exceed 500,000 acres without Congressional approval.
- 6Mandatory assessments before withdrawal: The President must ensure, and the responsible agencies must complete,:
- 7- A quantitative and qualitative mineral resource assessment.
- 8- An assessment of economic, energy, and national security value.
- 9- An assessment of the expected reduction in future Federal revenues.
- 10- A report to specified Congressional committees with the results.
- 11Congressional disapproval procedure: If Congress disapproves a withdrawal via a joint resolution, the withdrawal has no force or effect. The mechanism includes expedited procedures, defined debate limits in the Senate, and specific rules for how such resolutions move through Congress.
- 12Integration with the 5-year leasing program: A withdrawal may not conflict with areas included in a lease sale scheduled under an approved 5-year oil and gas leasing program (as per Section 18).