Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a civilian sub-agency within the Department of the Interior, procures contracts and funds grants to support offshore energy and minerals management, environmental science, and coastal resource research. BOEM operates as the federal steward of marine energy development, critical-minerals assessment, and ocean science in federal waters.

BOEM awarded 10,286 federal contracts cumulatively since 1983, with combined potential value of $1.17 billion and combined dollars obligated of $2.51 billion. Recent contract activity shows 99 awards in 2023, 104 in 2024, 41 in 2025, 66 in 2026, and 1 award recorded for 2027. The most recently recorded award date is in January 2027. Contract volume has declined notably since 2024, with 2025 marking a significant drop. The agency works with 2,317 distinct prime contractors across the portfolio lifetime.

Contract competition is highly fragmented by award count; the top five primes—Kearns & West Inc., Blue World Research Institute Inc., ICF Incorporated L.L.C., Aptim Federal Services LLC, and Industrial Economics Inc.—hold 32 percent of awards over the last five years. By potential value, concentration is extremely limited; the same top five hold only 5 percent of combined potential value, indicating a long tail of small-value transactions. The set-aside portfolio is dominated by unrestricted awards (78 percent of all contracts), with small-business set-asides accounting for 16 percent and 8(a) sole-source contracts representing 5 percent. Competitive small-business set-asides, woman-owned small business, HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, and other socioeconomic designations together comprise less than one percent of awards.

BOEM obligated $354.3 million in federal grant dollars across 637 total grant awards since 1983. Grant activity has contracted sharply; the agency issued 22 grants in 2021, 21 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 15 in 2024, and only 3 in 2025. The most recent grant award closed in September 2025. The agency funds 136 distinct recipients across portfolio history. Grant recipients are moderately concentrated by award count; the top five—University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of California Santa Cruz, Louisiana State University, University of California San Diego, and the University of Southern Mississippi—hold 35 percent of recent awards. By federal dollars, recipient concentration is negligible; the same five recipients account for only 4 percent of obligated federal grant dollars, reflecting a dispersed funding model across universities and state agencies. Grants are structured predominantly as Formula Grants (54 percent of awards) and Cooperative Agreements (46 percent), with minimal Project Grant and Block Grant activity.

Recent contract opportunities include solicitations for Alaska data-management support (due September 15, 2026, no set-aside), critical minerals and core investigation in Texas federal waters (due August 31, 2026, no set-aside), sand and sediment investigation offshore Louisiana (small-business set-aside, due August 31, 2026, with an August 13, 2026 update to questions), and a notice of intent to sole-source the Borealis Stakeholder Relationship Management Tool (due August 13, 2026). No recent grant opportunities are recorded in the source data.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management promotes energy independence, environmental protection, and economic development by managing offshore energy resources.