GoM O&G lease sale goes on

The Biden administration initially wanted to institute a temporary pause on selling oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, but a court halted the moratorium, forcing auctioning to begin Nov. 17. The sale garnered the ire of environmental advocates. The sale put up about 80M acres for lease, but only 1.7M were actually leased, with companies placing bids on 308 of some 15,000 blocks. Thirty-three companies participated. The firms will pay nearly $192M to drill, and royalties for what they extract. Many of the blocks went to major firms, with ExxonMobil bidding on more than 90, Chevron placing more than 30 bids and BP placing nearly 50. Of all 308 blocks leased, only nine had more than one bid. Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana argued in granting his injunction that states were likely to face losses as a result of a leasing pause. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry told The Hill on Nov. 16 a pause would have had a negative impact on the state. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15 percent of total U.S. crude production and 5 percent of its natural gas. Source: MSN 11/17/21) Biden administration auctions off drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico (msn.com)