The Trump administration has released detailed plans for a large offshore oil and gas lease sale in Cook Inlet, marking the start of a new round of federally mandated energy development in Alaska.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Monday that roughly 1 million acres of federal waters in the inlet will be offered to energy companies early next year in what the agency calls the “Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale.”

Bids will be due March 3, 2026, with the auction scheduled for March 4.

The sale is the first of six Cook Inlet lease sales required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a broad budget and energy package signed into law by President Trump in July 2025.

The law also mandates 30 lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico through 2040.

The leases will carry

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