Interior Rolls Out First “Big Beautiful Gulf” Auction for December

The Interior Department just laid out a decades-long offshore leasing calendar under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, locking in regular auctions in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet. At least 30 Gulf sales and six in Cook Inlet are scheduled, according to a Department of the Interior press release—the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration is leaning hard into offshore drilling as the backbone of its energy agenda. The Gulf still does the heavy lifting when it comes to US oil production, pumping 14–15% of…