BOEM Will Hold Public Hearing on December 8th in New Orleans on Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a public hearing in New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2011, to provide an opportunity to comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012 – 2017. This is one in a series of 13 public hearings. A leasing program consists of a schedule of oil and gas lease sales (auctions) indicating the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity for the five-year period following its approval by the Secretary of the Interior.