BRIDGE Production Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Ezell
Introduced
Summary
Mandatory 10‑year offshore lease sale program would require 26 offshore oil and gas lease sales and set schedules, acreage minimums, royalty rules, and streamlining for certain sales. It also creates a 5‑year/15‑sale replacement framework and new royalty incentives for early production.
Show full summary
- Oil and gas companies and bidders: Would get a predictable pipeline of 26 lease sales over 10 years, creating regular opportunities to bid and obtain leases quickly after acceptable bids.
- Gulf, Cook Inlet, and Alaska areas: Gulf lease sales would be required to offer at least 80 million acres per sale and Cook Inlet sales at least 1 million acres per sale. The replacement schedule also specifies a 5‑year plan with focused Gulf and Alaska sales.
- Royalties and reviews: Would set a new minimum royalty of 12.5 percent and cap the Federal net royalty at 18.75 percent. It would authorize a pilot to reduce royalties for early production and let replacement‑schedule sales proceed without additional NEPA, Endangered Species Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, or tribal consultation reviews.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Backup five-year offshore leasing plan
For each new 5‑year program, the Secretary would need to publish a draft 24 months before the old plan ends and approve the final at least 120 days before it expires. If the deadline is missed, a default schedule would start: two region‑wide Gulf sales and one Alaska sale each year, offering all unleased acres named in BOEM’s 2017–2022 plan. For these default sales, certain BOEM environmental reviews would count as enough, and leases would be issued within 90 days after an acceptable bid.
Lower offshore royalties and early discount
The bill would set a royalty floor of 12.5% and a ceiling of 18.75% for certain offshore leases. It would also create a pilot that lets some new leases pay 10% royalty for the first seven production years. To qualify, first production must happen within 3 years and the operator must apply within 60 days. No more than 25 leases could get this discount. The Secretary would report to Congress by December 31, 2030.
Ten-year offshore lease sales plan
The bill would require at least 26 offshore lease sales in 10 years: 20 in the Gulf and 6 in Cook Inlet. Sales would follow set dates through March 31, 2035 in the Gulf and March 31, 2034 in Cook Inlet. Each Gulf sale would offer at least 80,000,000 acres and each Cook Inlet sale at least 1,000,000 acres, or all unleased acres if fewer. Sales would use set lease forms and terms from past sales, and leases would be issued within 90 days after an acceptable bid. Gulf sales would offer the areas shown in BOEM Figure S‑1; Cook Inlet sales would stay within Figure S‑2. The Secretary could waive rules that would delay final approval, and commingling requests would be decided within 45 days.
Courts could force delayed lease sales
If a required sale is more than 10 days late, a bidder could sue within 30 days. A court that finds a failure would order the sale within 120 days. If that order is not met, fines could start after 30 days, with one 30‑day extension possible. The court could appoint a special master to monitor, publish notices, and issue leases. Interior would have to fund the master’s work. People seeking to block a sale or lease would need to post security, and courts would remand fixes rather than cancel leases.
Faster environmental reviews for Gulf leasing
For Gulf lease sales under this bill, certain existing federal studies would count as enough review. This would run from enactment until two years after the last required sale. It would cover the 2020 NMFS Biological Opinion, BOEM’s 2023 supplemental EIS and related documents, and certain coastal zone rulings. During this window, whale mitigation for Balaenoptera ricei would not apply to these operations.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Ezell
MS • R
Cosponsors
Higgins (LA)
LA • R
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Weber (TX)
TX • R
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Crenshaw
TX • R
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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