Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Did you know ferromanganese crusts grow only 1 to 4 millimeters every million years?

Found on underwater mountains across the Pacific, these crusts are rich in critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper, and rare earth elements—materials vital to the United States’ clean energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and national defense.

As part of the campaign, we are advancing science to better understand and responsibly manage offshore mineral resources. This work helps ensure long-term U.S. energy security, supply chain resilience, and environmental stewardship for the next 250 years of American progress.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/nWCZ50Z5n1V

Your smartphone relies on critical minerals—and so do many of the technologies Americans depend on every day.

From screens and batteries to processors and cameras, phones use lithium, aluminum, gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements. These minerals are also critical to communications systems, manufacturing, and national security.

Through the campaign, we are highlighting how offshore science and data collection support informed decisions about mineral resources. This work helps ensure the United States remains prepared and resilient for the next 250 years.

Learn more: https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/critical-minerals-a-smartphone-full-color-digital

This , we honor and remember the courageous men and women who gave their lives defending our nation.

We remain committed to responsibly managing the development of energy, mineral, and geological resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in a way that supports America’s strength, security, and reliable energy future.

Happy ! Critical minerals are essential to America’s energy, infrastructure, technology, healthcare, transportation, and defense.

Located on the deep ocean floor, hard offshore minerals like nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese, and rare earth elements play a critical role in your everyday life—but many are in limited supply.

We manage the responsible development of mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, evaluate marine minerals deposits, and oversee leasing and environmental and technical reviews. This work helps reduce reliance on foreign sources, strengthen domestic supply chains, and support U.S. energy independence, manufacturing, and national security.

Learn more: https://www.boem.gov/marine-minerals/critical-minerals

NOAA scientists and partners to map deep waters and seabed in the Cook Islands:

This summer, NOAA Ocean Exploration will conduct an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to map, explore and characterize deep waters off the coast of the Cook Islands. The effort is in partnership with the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority.

See our story for more:

https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-scientists-and-partners-to-map-deep-waters-seabed-in-cook-islands

**About this photo: During the 2025 Deep-sea Habitats of the Cook Islands expedition on Exploration Vessel Nautilus the team surveyed various seascapes to better understand seabed environments, and natural and mineral resources in the region, In this image, polymetallic nodules on the seabed rest on sediment accumulated in a depression between rounded pillows and extended lobate lava flows, which are evidence of ancient volcanoes. (Image credit: Courtesy of Ocean Exploration Trust)

At BOEM, responsible offshore energy development supports more than America’s energy supply—it helps strengthen our infrastructure, economy, and coastal communities while supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Offshore oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf generate substantial revenues through lease sales, rental fees, royalties, and operating fees. These revenues help support local economies, restoration efforts, fisheries, tourism, and the coastal infrastructure that underpins offshore operations.

By reinvesting offshore energy revenues into local communities, regions, and infrastructure, we are helping support long-term energy security, economic opportunity, and a strong energy future for America.

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Offshore infrastructure powers America’s energy future. Through planning, coordination, leasing, and responsible resource management, we help lay the foundation for future offshore energy development across the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

BOEM’s offshore oil and gas leasing program—guided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program—provides a structured path for future offshore infrastructure, investment, and energy development while balancing economic and environmental considerations.

We are also improving leasing efficiency and increasing regulatory certainty to help support long-term investment, strengthen energy security, and maintain strong environmental safeguards as we help build the infrastructure that fuels America’s future.

It’s ! The sei whale is one of the most endangered large whales in the North Atlantic.

Through collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, we are shedding important light on sei whale acoustic behavior. Together, BOEM and NOAA successfully placed digital acoustic tags on 14 sei whales in waters offshore Massachusetts in 2022—the first-time researchers had successfully tagged an endangered species in the U.S. using an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone.

Using UAVs allows scientists to collect data in a way that is safer for both the whales and researchers while improving our understanding of whale behavior and how they use their habitat.

This research is helping to inform mitigation strategies—including passive acoustic monitoring—to better protect these endangered species from the impacts of offshore energy activities.

Watch the drone in action ⬇️

First-Ever Successful Drone-based Tagging of Endangered Sei Whales in U.S. An uncrewed aerial system (UAS or drone) attaches a suction cup equipped, biologging tag to the mother of a mother/calf sei whale pair. The tag delivery devi...

Members of BOEM and BSEE briefed the U.S. Army War College on the important role offshore energy development plays in supporting America’s energy security, economic growth, and environmental stewardship.

The presentation highlighted offshore energy operations across the Gulf of America, Pacific, and Alaska regions, as well as ongoing work on strategic offshore resources, leasing, permitting enhancements, and interagency collaboration.

The engagement provided an opportunity to highlight how BOEM and BSEE work together to support responsible offshore energy development, informed decision-making, and environmental stewardship across the Outer Continental Shelf.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) is the foundation for how the nation manages offshore energy and mineral resources. Enacted in 1953, it established federal oversight of activities beyond state waters, an area covering approximately 3.2 billion acres.

OCSLA ensures offshore development is safe, environmentally responsible, and transparent. Over time, the law has evolved by strengthening environmental safeguards, expanding coordination with states and Tribal Nations, and incorporating offshore energy authorities through the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These updates support the management of offshore energy resources in alignment with national priorities.

Working alongside key environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, OCSLA forms a comprehensive framework for responsible offshore development. Today, through this system, we are unifying offshore planning, upholding environmental stewardship, public trust, and scientific integrity, and boosting operational oversight as we oversee activities that shape the nation’s offshore energy future.

More at: https://www.boem.gov/newsroom/ocean-science-news/understanding-outer-continental-shelf-lands-act