WASHINGTON – The Salamanca floating production unit, a first-of-its-kind refurbished offshore platform in the Gulf of America, began production under the oversight of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. As part of President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” agenda, Salamanca illustrates how innovative projects can move forward safely with strong regulatory review, contributing to the continued development of domestic oil resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
“These developments underscore the success of American Energy Dominance policies in not only expanding domestic energy supplies and creating jobs but also in boosting the economy and reducing reliance on foreign oil – all while maintaining the highest safety and environmental standards,” said Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Leslie Beyer.
Gulf of America: Record Production with New Deepwater Projects
In the Gulf of America, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has overseen several important projects brought online in 2025. Besides Salamanca, Shell's Whale platform achieved first oil in January and is designed to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at peak. Joining Whale in this year's lineup is Beacon Offshore Energy's Shenandoah, a high-pressure deepwater development in the Walker Ridge area off Louisiana, which began oil and natural gas production in July. Shenandoah is designed for 120,000 barrels per day of production capacity, making it one of the most significant new oil producers in the Gulf. In April, Chevron's Ballymore field came online as a subsea tie-back to an existing facility and added up to 75,000 barrels per day.
Noticeably, LLOG Exploration's Salamanca hub in Keathley Canyon, marks the first-ever refurbishment and reuse of a decommissioned floating production unit in the Gulf. Rather than build a platform from scratch, the Salamanca project transformed a previously retired facility into a modern oil hub – significantly reducing the time, cost and emissions required to bring a facility online. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Floating Production Unit has an output capacity of about 66,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The bureau oversaw rigorous safety reviews of the refurbished platform and new equipment, ensuring that this pioneering project meets all standards as it contributes new barrels to U.S. oil production.
“We're seeing the payoff of a bold offshore energy blueprint,” said Beyer. “From cutting-edge deepwater platforms to creative reuse of existing units, industry is answering the call to maximize domestic oil production. Under President Trump's leadership, the Gulf is again proving itself as a cornerstone of American energy security, ensuring a stable and reliable energy supply.”
Pacific Offshore: A Comeback After a Decade
For the first time in ten years, offshore oil production has resumed in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf from the Santa Ynez Unit. Platform Harmony restarted operations in 2025 following thorough inspections, infrastructure checks, and pipeline safety reviews by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement . This restart restores an important source of domestic energy supply while ensuring that safeguards are in place to protect workers and the coastal environment.
Arctic Oversight: Safeguarding Frontier Resources
In the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf, the bureau continues to oversee oil production from the Northstar Unit in the Beaufort Sea.
The Arctic represents both opportunity and responsibility, and the bureau’s oversight ensures that any new development in the region proceeds with careful attention to worker safety, environmental protection and community concerns.
Policy Success and Safe Oversight
These gains in offshore oil output are the direct result of policy decisions and regulatory reforms put in place since President Trump took office. Early in the Administration, the President and Secretary of the Interior outlined a blueprint aimed at maximizing the nation's untapped oil and gas potential on federal lands and waters. In offshore regions, this translated into actively encouraging new projects, streamlining permitting processes, and removing unnecessary obstacles – all while enforcing stringent safety and environmental standards.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has implemented initiatives like “Dominance by Design,” a collaborative program with industry to modernize offshore oversight and improve the efficiency of approvals for important projects. By collaborating with operators, the bureau ensured that innovations such as high-pressure deepwater wells and technology-driven production techniques (e.g. downhole commingling) could be deployed quickly under effective supervision.
Safety and environmental protection have remained paramount even as development accelerates. Each new production facility underwent comprehensive engineering reviews, and bureau inspectors were on-site for critical milestones – from pre-commissioning tests on the refurbished Salamanca platform to pipeline integrity checks and spill response readiness in California.
“BSEE’s role is to make sure offshore energy projects advance safely and responsibly,” said BSEE Principal Deputy Director KennethStevens. “The start-up of Salamanca, the resumption of Pacific production, and ongoing oversight in the Arctic show that we can and will expand domestic resources while protecting workers, communities, and the environment.”
As new projects come online in the Gulf, production resumes in the Pacific, and operations continue in the Arctic, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement remains committed to providing strong regulatory leadership for offshore energy development across all Outer Continental Shelf regions.