The federal government held an auction Wednesday for oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The Trump administration is pushing for an expansion of offshore drilling, and there has been a lot of anticipation around this sale — the largest ever in the Gulf, with 77-million acres up for grabs.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) holds Gulf lease sales once or twice a year. More acres are up for auction than ever before. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently called this one a "bellwether" — an indicator of future offshore drilling.
There was a little more interest in this sale compared to last year — but not by much. Last August, companies spent about $121 million on leases. This sale brought in about $124 million.
Mike Celata, who oversees the Gulf lease program for BOEM, isn't discouraged. He says major companies like BP are showing “continued interest” bodes well for the Gulf of Mexico. And added that some newer, smaller companies placed bids, too. “I think all those are positive,” he said.
BOEM has not yet set a date for the next lease sale, but said it would likely be in August of this year.
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