The Interior Department saw its weakest results for an offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in at least a decade on Wednesday, raising $46.9 million from the 13 participating companies.
Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management received 38 bids on 25 tracts in the Gulf, a far cry from the 219 bids on 181 tracts BOEM received in the last Gulf lease sale in December, which raised $279 million.
The lackluster results represent a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to expand oil and gas production in U.S. waters, especially amid a war in the Middle East that disrupted global crude supplies and sent prices soaring. The International Energy Agency on Wednesday announced member countries would make the largest-ever emergency crude stockpile release in a bid to stem the price spike.
Wednesday’s results also come just a week after Interior’s much-touted lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet drew zero bids. BOEM has proposed an aggressive schedule of offshore lease sales for the coming years, including dozens off the coast of Alaska and in the Gulf.
