U.S. Code » Title 43 » Chapter CHAPTER 29— SUBMERGED LANDS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS

43 U.S.C. § 1341

Reservation of lands and rights

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(a) Withdrawal of unleased lands by President

The President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.

(b) First refusal of mineral purchases

In time of war, or when the President shall so prescribe, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to purchase at the market price all or any portion of any mineral produced from the outer Continental Shelf.

(c) National security clause

All leases issued under this subchapter, and leases, the maintenance and operation of which are authorized under this subchapter, shall contain or be construed to contain a provision whereby authority is vested in the Secretary, upon a recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, during a state of war or national emergency declared by the Congress or the President of the United States after August 7, 1953, to suspend operations under any lease; and all such leases shall contain or be construed to contain provisions for the payment of just compensation to the lessee whose operations are thus suspended.

(d) National defense areas; suspension of operations; extension of leases

The United States reserves and retains the right to designate by and through the Secretary of Defense, with the approval of the President, as areas restricted from exploration and operation that part of the outer Continental Shelf needed for national defense; and so long as such designation remains in effect no exploration or operations may be conducted on any part of the surface of such area except with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense; and if operations or production under any lease theretofore issued on lands within any such restricted area shall be suspended, any payment of rentals, minimum royalty, and royalty prescribed by such lease likewise shall be suspended during such period of suspension of operation and production, and the term of such lease shall be extended by adding thereto any such suspension period, and the United States shall be liable to the lessee for such compensation as is required to be paid under the Constitution of the United States.

(e) Source materials essential to production of fissionable materials

All uranium, thorium, and all other materials determined pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 5 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, to be peculiarly essential to the production of fissionable material, contained, in whatever concentration, in deposits in the subsoil or seabed of the outer Continental Shelf are reserved for the use of the United States.

(f) Helium ownership; rules and regulations governing extraction

The United States reserves and retains the ownership of and the right to extract all helium, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary, contained in gas produced from any portion of the outer Continental Shelf which may be subject to any lease maintained or granted pursuant to this subchapter, but the helium shall be extracted from such gas so as to cause no substantial delay in the delivery of gas produced to the purchaser of such gas.

(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, § 12, 67 Stat. 469.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 5 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, referred to in subsec. (e), is par. (1) of section 5(b) of act Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, 60 Stat. 755, which was classified to section 1805 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to the general amendment of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 by act Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, § 1, 68 Stat. 919. See section 2014(z) of Title 42.

Executive DocumentsKey Largo Coral Reef Preserve

Withdrawal of area designated Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve from disposition, see Proc. No. 3339, Mar. 15, 1960, 25 F.R. 2352, set out as a note under section 320101 of Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1972–2025 · leading case: Sun Oil Co. v. United States, 215 Ct. Cl. 716 (Ct. Cl. 1978).
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Sun Oil Co. v. United States, 215 Ct. Cl. 716 (Ct. Cl. 1978). “The Ninth Circuit, when confronted with the issue of whether Secretary Morton’s denial on September 20, 1971, as amplified on November 3, 1972, of Union Oil’s request for a permit to install Platform C on the Dos Cuadras field constituted a taking, held: Congress’ clear concern…”
Amoco Prod. Co. v. Sea Robin Pipeline Co., Pennzoil Producing Co. v. Sea Robin Pipeline Co., 844 F.2d 1202 (5th Cir. 1988). · cites it 2× “In similar vein, OCSLA § 12 ( 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (c)) refers to the authority of the Secretary of the Interi- or in time of war or national emergency “to suspend operations under any lease” and mandates that “all such leases shall contain or be construed to contain provisions for…”
Cnty. of San Mateo v. Chevron Corp., 960 F.3d 586 (9th Cir. 2020). “§ 1337 (b)(7), and that “[i]n time of war, or when the President shall so prescribe, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to purchase at the market price all or any portion of any mineral produced from the outer Continental Shelf,” 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (b). Mere…”
League of Conservation Voters v. Trump, 363 F. Supp. 3d 1013 (D. Alaska 2019). · cites it 8× “The Court refers to Section 12(a), rather than to 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (a), throughout this Order.”
Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Rogers C. B. Morton, 458 F.2d 827 (D.C. Cir. 1972). “The OCS leasing was specifically made subject to executive authority to withdraw unleased lands from disposition from time to time, 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (a). Import controls were from the outset dependent on continuing Presidential findings as to the nature and duration of controls…”
Pauley Petroleum Inc. v. United States, 219 Ct. Cl. 24 (Ct. Cl. 1979). “43 U.S.C. § 1341 (c) (1970); see Sun Oil, 215 Ct.”
League of Conservation Voters v. Trump, 303 F. Supp. 3d 985 (D. Alaska 2018). “§ 1332 (3) ("[T]he outer Continental Shelf is a vital national resource reserve held by the Federal Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly development, subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the…”
Louisiana v. Biden, No. 2:25-cv-00071 (W.D. La. Oct. 2, 2025). · cites it 2× “They sought declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting under Counts I and II that the Withdrawal Memoranda are unlawful because § 12(a) of OCSLA, 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (a), violates the U.S. Constitution, and under Count III that the Withdrawal Memoranda are unlawful because they…”
Alaska Indus. Dev. & Exp. Auth. v. Biden, 685 F. Supp. 3d 813 (D. Alaska 2023). “at 288–90 (evaluating ultra vires claim concerning the President’s authority to pause leasing nationwide without analysis of 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (a), which provides that “[t]he President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased…”
Legal Authorities Available to the President to Respond to a Severe Energy Supply Interruption or Other Substantial Reduction in Available Petroleum Prods. (OLC 1982). · cites it 2× “§ 2406 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1341 (b) Magnuson Act, 50 U.S.”
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