Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has submitted comments in support of a second offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America. Under the purview of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, these lease sales allow companies to explore and drill for oil and gas found in America’s Outer Continental Shelf.
Buckingham wrote in her letter sent to the BOEM that she appreciates the opportunity to comment on yet another proposed lease sale, set for March, which will have a direct impact on funding public education through the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF).
PSF is the largest owner of mineral rights in Texas.
According to Buckingham, nearly $6.2 billion has been generated for PSF through oil and gas production, sales, leases, and land transactions since 2023, with $1.6 billion received this past year alone.
“As the steward of the land and mineral estate dedicated to the PSF, I celebrate all efforts to expand energy production in the Gulf of America,” said Buckingham. “Texas is the energy capitol of the world, and we–the State of Texas and the Federal government–must continue to take advantage of our vast resources and offshore capabilities to benefit all U.S. citizens.”
The sale of offshore sale of oil and gas leases comes after the passing of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which requires the Department of the Interior to hold 36 offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet until 2040 and puts the BOEM in charge of the project.
To ensure investment in one of the nation’s most productive offshore basins, 30 of the 36 lease sales are set to be from the Gulf of America.
On December 10, 2025, the first lease sale, known as Big Beautiful Gulf 1, generated $300,425,222 in high bids for 181 blocks across 80 million acres in federal waters of the Gulf of America, according to a news release from the Department of the Interior.
It was the first federal offshore oil and natural gas lease sale since 2023.
Buckingham added that the lease sales not only fuel state and federal revenues but also fund infrastructure, education, and public services, while creating energy dominance essential for strengthening the economy and securing national energy security against hostile foreign adversaries attempting to disrupt American energy production.
The sale of Big Beautiful Gulf 2 is set for March 11 and will offer about 15,000 blocks covering 80 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of America.
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