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Energy and permitting policy, read from the public record.

Register entry No. 0014ReportE.O. 14285, 90 FR 17735

BOEM proposes terms for Northern Mariana Islands seabed minerals sale PACM-2, Docket BOEM-2026-0793

The proposed leasing notice offers five lease areas covering about 67.2 million acres east and west of the islands, with a $3 million minimum bid and a Dec. 16 sale date. The CNMI governor has until Oct. 19 to comment.

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Summary

Nine months after it first asked companies whether they wanted to lease seabed minerals off the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has proposed the terms of a sale. A notice of availability published August 18, 2026, at 91 FR 53422 (Docket No. BOEM-2026-0793) announces the Proposed Leasing Notice for Pacific Mineral Lease Sale 2, or PACM-2, issued under section 8(k) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1337(k), and 30 CFR 581.16 [1]. The notice proposes a December 16, 2026, sale and gives the CNMI governor until October 19 to comment [1].

What the record shows

Five lease areas. The proposed notice would offer all available unleased acreage in five areas: CNMI East-1 (15,776,449 acres), CNMI East-2 (18,078,671), CNMI West-1 (10,936,675), CNMI West-2 (11,021,803) and CNMI West-3 (11,383,434) [2]. Together that is about 67.2 million acres, described on 35 official protraction diagrams that BOEM published the same day at 91 FR 53420 [2, 10]. A lease would cover minerals and metals in polymetallic nodules, ferromanganese crusts and marine sulfide deposits; oil, gas, sulfur and fissionable source materials stay reserved to the government [2].

Fiscal terms. The proposal sets a 20-year primary term and a minimum bonus bid of $3,000,000 per lease area [2]. Rent is zero for the first five years. After that it rises in steps, from $0.30 to $1.20 per acre in years 6 through 10 and from $2.50 to $10.00 in years 16 through 20, depending on how much of the initial area the lessee still holds [2]. The thresholds differ by region: in the east the lowest rate applies below 15 percent retained, in the west below 5 percent, because “the expected development footprint differs” between the two [2].

Royalties also split by region [2]:

  • Eastern areas: 2 percent of production value for the first five years under an approved mining plan, then 5 percent.
  • Western areas: 5 percent for the first five years, then 7 percent.
  • Delineation and testing production: 5 percent on anything processed to marketable condition or sold.

“No royalty relief will be offered in this sale,” the notice states [2].

Auction format. Bidding would be an in-person, oral ascending clock auction, held one lease area at a time in or near Camarillo, California [2]. “The venue will not be open to the public,” the notice says, though BOEM would stream it live [2]. A bidder may win more than one area if it posts a separate deposit for each. The initial deposit is 20 percent of the minimum bid, or $600,000 per area, due December 2, and bidder financial forms are due by mail with a wet signature by November 18 [2]. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission would review results for antitrust issues before leases issue [2].

Stipulations. The package lists 14 lease stipulations and 14 information-to-lessees items [2]. Stipulations 10 through 13 address community investment, local labor, supply chains and port use. Lessees would have to “make every reasonable effort to use ports in the CNMI” for staging and logistics, file a “Local Content Report” on local labor and contracts within 90 days after preliminary surveys, and submit a supply chain statement of goals before any delineation, testing or mining plan [3]. On any eastern area, lessees must coordinate with the Navy because the lease area intersects training and testing activities in the Mariana Island Range Complex [3].

What would a lease actually allow?

Survey work, not mining. BOEM’s environmental assessment, BOEM 2026-032, analyzes issuing up to six leases that authorize preliminary activities only, with any future mining requiring a plan and its own environmental review [5]. Preliminary activities include high-resolution geophysical surveys, limited seabed and biological sampling and oceanographic measurements [5]. NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Regional Office, in an August 10 letter, concurred that the survey program “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” the listed species in its table, and found that effects to essential fish habitat would be “no more than minimal” with the proposed best management practices [11]. The letter notes that western-area sampling relies on remotely operated vehicles and prohibits box cores, and limits acoustic equipment to Tier 4 sources under a 2022 classification [11].

Where it sits in the process

The CNMI process began with a request for information and interest published November 12, 2025, at 90 FR 50872, citing Executive Order 14285 among its authorities [7]. That order, signed in April 2025, directs the Interior secretary to “establish an expedited process for reviewing and approving permits for prospecting and granting leases” for seabed minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf [12]. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 had extended the shelf’s definition to cover waters off U.S. territories, including the CNMI [7].

Comments were first due December 12, 2025; BOEM extended the deadline to January 12, 2026, and corrected the request to place the study area east, not west, of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument [8]. The original area covered 35,483,044 acres [7].

The Area ID memorandum then added a second, western area of 33,618,369 acres in response to company nominations for polymetallic sulfides, making the recommended area about twice the size of the original [6]. BOEM’s protraction-diagram notice describes the Area ID as finalized March 18, 2026 [10].

The steps ahead under 30 CFR part 581 are set out in the proposed notice [2]:

  1. The governor’s comment window closes October 19, 2026 [1].
  2. The Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management decides “whether or how to proceed” [2].
  3. A final leasing notice must appear in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the sale [1].
  4. Bidder forms are due November 18, unless the final notice says otherwise, and initial deposits December 2 [2].
  5. The auction is proposed for December 16, 2026 [1].

PACM-2 trails a parallel American Samoa sale. BOEM published the PACM-1 proposed notice on July 17, with that governor’s comments due September 15 and a sale proposed for November 19, 2026 [9]. Both notices were signed by Matthew Giacona as acting director [1, 9]. The press release says the bureau and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement were reunified as the Marine Minerals Administration as of July 10, 2026 [4].

What the record does not show

  • A decision to sell. The press release says issuing the notice “does not affirm that a lease sale will be held,” and the notice reserves Interior’s right to revise the areas and terms [2, 4].
  • Five areas or six leases. The proposed notice offers five areas; the environmental assessment analyzes up to six leases, three in each region [2, 5]. The record does not explain the difference.
  • Acreage reconciliation. The two eastern lease areas total about 33.9 million acres, about 1.6 million fewer than the eastern Area ID figure, and the three western areas total about 33.3 million acres, about 276,000 fewer [2, 6]. The notice does not say which blocks dropped out or why.
  • A public comment round on the assessment. BOEM wrote that it “will not be publishing a draft EA or opening for public comments for this leasing action,” citing 40 CFR 1501.10(f) and Interior’s February 2026 NEPA handbook [5]. The CNMI governor had asked for a full environmental impact statement, and Guam’s leaders for a regional one [6].
  • Coastal zone determinations. BOEM says it is preparing negative determinations under the Coastal Zone Management Act for both the CNMI and Guam programs, to be delivered at least 90 days before any lease issues [5]. Those determinations are not yet in the record.
  • Who is bidding. The Area ID memorandum says “several companies” submitted indications of interest, but BOEM treats the areas each company nominated as proprietary [6, 7].
  • Resource quantities. BOEM’s memorandum says “the presence of any minable orebody is unknown,” and that sulfide deposits in the western area are inferred from geologic setting and known hydrothermal vents, not from sampling [6].

Positions on the record

Interior. Giacona, identified in the press release as acting director of the Marine Minerals Administration, said: “The United States cannot afford to depend on foreign nations for the resources that power our economy and support our defense industrial base” [4]. The release says the notice supports access to minerals needed “to strengthen U.S. supply chains” [4].

The CNMI government. According to BOEM’s summary, Gov. David M. Apatang wrote that he “will neither fully support nor fully oppose advancing seabed mining activities” on the information in the request [6]. He asked for baseline environmental data, a full environmental impact statement, clear economic benefit pathways and government-to-government engagement before any leasing decision [6].

Guam. Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio and other Guam leaders submitted letters stating joint opposition, asking for a halt to the process, a regional environmental impact statement and inclusion of Guam in decisions [6]. The Guam Legislature submitted Resolution No. 132-38 (COR), which reaffirms a moratorium on deep-sea mining and opposes the proposal [6].

Industry. Industry commenters supported rent-free early years and suggested royalties based on revenue, “no higher than 3 percent,” falling to 1.5 percent for the first five years [6]. Other commenters urged BOEM to reject rates of 3 percent or lower [6]. The proposed eastern rate begins at 2 percent; the western rate at 5 percent [2].

Public comment. BOEM counted 65,585 submissions on the request, of which 1,672 were unique and 58,592 came from 29 form-letter campaigns, petitions and multi-signatory letters [6]. Commenters raised sediment plumes, fisheries, tourism, cultural sites and Indigenous rights; others cited national security and revenue [6].

Whether Gov. Apatang files comments by October 19, and what they ask for, is the next entry the docket is waiting on.

Reading-room questions

Questions readers bring to this record, answered from the documents cited below.

When is the Northern Mariana Islands seabed minerals lease sale?
BOEM proposes to hold Lease Sale PACM-2 on December 16, 2026 [1, 2]. The sale goes ahead only if a final leasing notice is published in the Federal Register at least 30 days beforehand [1].
Can the public comment on the PACM-2 proposed leasing notice?
The 60-day review under 30 CFR 581.16 belongs to the CNMI governor, whose comments are due October 19, 2026 [1]. BOEM said it would not publish a draft environmental assessment or open it for public comment [5].
What is the minimum bid and royalty for the CNMI mineral leases?
The proposed minimum bonus bid is $3 million per lease area [2]. Proposed royalties are 2 percent for the first five years of mining production and 5 percent after that in the eastern areas, and 5 percent then 7 percent in the western areas [2].
Does a PACM-2 lease allow deep-sea mining?
No. A lease would authorize only preliminary activities such as surveys and limited sampling; mining would need a separately reviewed plan [5]. The environmental assessment covers up to six leases on that basis [5].
How close are the proposed lease areas to Guam and Saipan?
The western area comes within about 46 miles of Guam and 57 miles of Saipan at its closest point [6]. The eastern area is about 127 miles from Guam and 128 miles from Saipan [6].

Note on sourcing

The proposed leasing notice is not a decision to hold a sale; its areas, terms and dates can change in a final leasing notice. The environmental assessment is dated August 2026 and was posted with the notice on August 17; the record available as of publication contains no separate finding of no significant impact. The positions of the CNMI and Guam governments and of industry commenters are as summarized in BOEM's March 2026 Area ID memorandum, not in their own filings, and this report does not draw on the individual comment letters in Docket BOEM-2025-0351. The Area ID memorandum carries a March 16 signature date, while BOEM's August 18 protraction-diagram notice describes the Area ID as finalized March 18. No response from the CNMI governor to the proposed notice appears in the record as of publication.

Sources

  1. Notice of Availability of the Proposed Leasing Notice for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Outer Continental Shelf Pacific Mineral Lease Sale 2 (PACM-2), 91 FR 53422 (FR Doc. 2026-16839)Federal Register (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), August 18, 2026 · federalregister.gov
  2. Proposed Leasing Notice, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands OCS Mineral Lease Sale (PACM-2)Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, August 17, 2026 · boem.gov
  3. Proposed Leasing Notice, CNMI OCS Mineral Lease Sale PACM-2: Lease StipulationsBureau of Ocean Energy Management, August 17, 2026 · boem.gov
  4. MMA Advances Potential Minerals Lease Sale Off Northern Mariana IslandsMarine Minerals Administration (Interior), August 17, 2026 · boem.gov
  5. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Critical Minerals Environmental Assessment (BOEM 2026-032)Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, August 17, 2026 · boem.gov
  6. Area Identification Recommendation for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Mineral Leasing Process (memorandum)Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, March 16, 2026 · boem.gov
  7. Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Request for Information and Interest, 90 FR 50872 (FR Doc. 2025-19852)Federal Register (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), November 12, 2025 · federalregister.gov
  8. Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore the CNMI: Request for Information and Interest; Extension of Comment Period, 90 FR 58052 (FR Doc. 2025-22833)Federal Register (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), December 15, 2025 · federalregister.gov
  9. Notice of Availability of the Proposed Leasing Notice for the American Samoa Outer Continental Shelf Pacific Mineral Lease Sale 1 (PACM-1), 91 FR 44870 (FR Doc. 2026-14479)Federal Register (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), July 17, 2026 · federalregister.gov
  10. Notice of Availability of Outer Continental Shelf Official Protraction Diagrams, 91 FR 53420 (FR Doc. 2026-16840)Federal Register (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), August 18, 2026 · federalregister.gov
  11. Letter of concurrence, ESA section 7 expedited informal consultation and EFH response for BOEM's proposed marine habitat surveys for commercial leasing for minerals offshore the CNMI (PIRO-2026-01570)NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Regional Office, August 10, 2026 · boem.gov
  12. Executive Order 14285, Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, 90 FR 17735Executive Office of the President (Federal Register), April 29, 2025 · federalregister.gov

Subject headings

Cross-references

Other register entries filed under the same subject headings.

  1. No. 0028 · Lease notice · 2 shared headingsBOEM proposes Cook Inlet oil and gas Lease Sale BBC2 for March 3, 2027, on terms fixed by statute, Docket BOEM-2026-0925
  2. No. 0010 · Rule · 1 shared headingBSEE and BOEM propose dropping Arctic same-season relief rig mandate, RIN 1082-AA05, 91 FR 50998
  3. No. 0031 · Floor orderSenate order sets Nov. 9 cloture vote on motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, the vehicle for a permitting package