Congress·In Committee·S. 109

Offshore Energy Security Act of 2025

Sen. Cassidy Proposes 20 New Offshore Oil Sales to Boost Gulf Energy Production

Jan 16, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

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StalledNext up: A senate committeeNo action in 17 months

A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.

Legislative Progress

Senate

No action since January 2025

House

President

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How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 2389 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 2389 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill requires the government to hold 20 new auctions for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 10 years. Starting in 2026, two sales would happen every year, with each sale offering at least 74 million acres for energy companies to bid on.
It limits how much environmental lawsuits can slow down drilling. If a court finds that the government didn't follow environmental laws correctly, the court cannot cancel the leases. Instead, the government must fix the paperwork while the drilling projects move forward.
While it increases drilling in the central Gulf, the bill also extends a ban on drilling in other places. It keeps oil and gas rigs away from the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, the South Atlantic, and the Florida Straits until at least 2035.
The goal of the bill is to create a steady supply of American energy and provide more certainty for the oil industry. By locking in these sales for a decade, it prevents future administrations from easily canceling or reducing the number of offshore auctions.

Energy EnvironmentEconomy Finance

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works

Gulf Coast fishers and shrimpers could face mixed effects. More offshore drilling activity can disrupt marine ecosystems and fishing grounds, but the bill also extends drilling bans in the Eastern Gulf, South Atlantic, and Florida Straits, protecting some key fishing areas through 2035.

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jan 16, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

1 article

Washington Times·Apr 28, 2025

Without American energy dominance, there is no American dream

Senator Bill Cassidy discusses the advancement of the Offshore Energy Security Act, which would require the Department of the Interior to hold regular offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico to restore 'American energy dominance.'

Center Left

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.