The Offshore Energy Security Act of 2023 requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct at least four oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over a two-year period starting from the bill's enactment, with specific deadlines of March 31, 2024, August 31, 2024, March 31, 2025, and August 31, 2025. Each sale must offer at least 74 million acres using the same lease terms and conditions from a 2021 Gulf of Mexico lease sale, and leases must be issued within 90 days of receiving acceptable bids. The bill affects oil and gas companies operating in federal waters and limits the ability of environmental lawsuits to delay or invalidate these lease sales, though courts can still require the government to fix violations of environmental review laws without overturning the leases themselves. The legislation removes certain procedural requirements and authorizes the Secretary to waive other delays under existing offshore leasing law, and it does not affect a 2020 presidential withdrawal of certain offshore areas from leasing.
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