Winning bids to drill for oil and gas over millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico totaled more than $279 million, the Interior Department said Wednesday.
The first oil and gas Gulf lease sale during President Donald Trump’s second term — and the first since 2023 — offered around 80 million acres of waters on the outer continental shelf to drilling companies.
The results amounted to about $103 million less in winning bids than the last sale during the Biden administration.
The Trump administration has pushed to open new areas of U.S. lands and waters to oil and gas production. Working with Republicans in Congress, the administration has begun to carry out oil and gas lease sales required under the Republican megalaw, which Trump signed in July.
