MMA proposes second Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale covering 1.05 million acres, scheduled for March 2027
The Marine Minerals Administration published a Proposed Notice of Sale in October 2026 for Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 2 (BBC2), the second of six offshore oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet mandated by Congress. The proposed sale would open approximately 1.05 million acres — 224 blocks stretching from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south — to competitive leasing, with bid opening scheduled for March 2027.
MMA releases proposed notice for BBC2 lease sale
MMA posted the Proposed Notice of Sale for BBC2 on BOEM’s website, making it publicly available alongside the announcement. The proposed sale targets roughly 1.05 million acres in the northern portion of the Cook Inlet Planning Area — the same geographic footprint offered during the BBC1 sale in March 2026.
The 224-block area runs from Kalgin Island in the north down to Augustine Island in the south. That’s a substantial stretch of Alaskan offshore territory, and the fact that it mirrors BBC1’s coverage area signals MMA’s intent to keep the leasing footprint consistent across the mandated sale cycle.
To kick off the formal review, MMA sent the Proposed Notice of Sale to Alaska’s governor and published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
BBC2 isn’t new frontier — it’s the same ground industry already passed on once. That context matters as the agency moves forward with its congressionally required schedule.
Legislative mandate and regulatory review process
BBC2 exists because Congress said it had to. The Working Families Tax Cut Act of 2025 requires MMA to hold at least six offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Cook Inlet Planning Area — one per year from 2026 through 2028, then one per year from 2030 through 2032. BBC2 is the second in that sequence.
To kick off the formal review, MMA sent the Proposed Notice of Sale to Alaska’s governor and published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. That step launched a 60-day window during which the state and affected local governments can submit comments on the sale’s size, timing, and location. MMA will review those comments before issuing a Final Notice of Sale, which must appear in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the scheduled bid opening — giving industry enough lead time to prepare.
Whether it produces bids is a separate question entirely.
Proposed terms: Royalty rates, minimum bids, and lease conditions
The Proposed Notice of Sale lays out the full commercial package: lease stipulations, minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates. The headline figure is a 12.5 percent royalty rate, which MMA described as intended to “encourage strong industry participation and support investment in domestic energy production.” That rate matches what was offered under BBC1 — part of MMA’s broader push to give industry a predictable leasing environment it can plan around rather than react to.
MMA Acting Director Mike Olsen put it plainly. “Alaska remains central to America’s energy future, and Cook Inlet is an important part of that opportunity,” he said. He added that BBC2 “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.” Bid opening is scheduled for March 2027.
BBC1 outcome and broader Alaska energy policy context
Here’s the complication: the first sale didn’t attract a single bid. As of March 4, 2026, no bids had been received for BBC1 — a notable data point as MMA moves forward with an identical geographic offering under BBC2.
MMA’s own overview page for BBC1 acknowledged the outcome but stayed the course. “In accordance with OBBBA, we will continue to hold leasing opportunities for Cook Inlet so that industry has a regular, predictable federal leasing schedule,” the page noted. The agency isn’t treating a zero-bid result as a reason to pause.
The broader Alaska energy policy picture has been shifting in parallel. In October 2026, the Department of the Interior added a new categorical exclusion under NEPA specifically for wintertime oil and gas exploration activities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The exclusion covers seismic surveys, applications for permits to drill, and grants of rights-of-way for temporary ice roads and related infrastructure. DOI justified the move by pointing to BLM’s long history of regulating winter operations in the NPR-A, arguing that ice-based infrastructure and required environmental safeguards mean these activities don’t produce significant or lasting environmental impacts.
The Sierra Club pushed back sharply, criticizing the administration’s “decision to bypass environmental reviews for Arctic oil drilling.”
On the agency side, a significant structural change took effect in July 2026: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) were reunified into the MMA, which now oversees offshore energy and marine mineral resource development under a single organizational umbrella.
What BBC2 means going forward
BBC2 is the second step in a six-sale congressional mandate — a schedule MMA is committed to running whether or not individual sales attract bids. The proposed 1.05-million-acre offering covers the same Cook Inlet blocks that drew no industry interest in March 2026, now repackaged with a 12.5 percent royalty rate and a March 2027 bid opening.
The 60-day comment period gives Alaska’s government and local stakeholders a formal voice in shaping the process. After that, MMA finalizes the notice and publishes it at least 30 days before bids open. The regulatory machinery is moving. The market response remains to be seen.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
