(a) If sealed bidding is used:

(1) We open the sealed bids at the place, date, and hour specified in the Final Sale Notice for the sole purpose of publicly announcing and recording the bids. We do not accept or reject any bids at that time.

(2) We reserve the right to reject any and all high bids, including a bid for any proposal submitted under the multiple-factor bidding format, regardless of the amount offered or bidding system used. The reasons for the rejection of a winning bid may include, but are not necessarily limited to, insufficiency, illegality, anti-competitive behavior, administrative error, and the presence of unusual bidding patterns. We intend to accept or reject all high bids within 90 days, but we may extend that time if necessary.

(b) If we use ascending bidding, we may, in the Final Sale Notice, reserve the right to accept the winning bid solely based on its being the highest bid submitted by a qualified bidder (qualified to be an OCS lessee under §585.107).

(c) If we use two-stage bidding and the auction concludes with

(i) An ascending bidding stage, the winning bid will be determined as stated in paragraph (b) of this section; or

(ii) A sealed bidding stage, the winning bid will be determined as stated in paragraph (a) of this section.

(d) If we use multiple-factor bidding, determination of the winning bid for any proposal submitted will be made by a panel composed of members selected by BOEM. The details of the process will be described in the Final Sale Notice.

(e) We will send a written notice of our decision to accept or reject bids to all bidders whose deposits we hold.