BP Is Top Winner of Trump’s First Gulf of Mexico Oil Lease Sale
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Article content(Bloomberg) — A unit of BP Plc was the high bidder in a US auction for oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, the first sale held under President Donald Trump’s second term. Energy companies offered more than $279 million in winning bids. Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle contentThe Interior Department’s auction Wednesday was the first in the Gulf since 2023. Companies bid on 181 tracts across roughly 80 million acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed the Gulf of America. The auction drew 219 bids and was widely viewed as a guage of industry confidence in finding oil and getting it to market quickly. It generated about $100 million less than the December 2023 sale held under then-President Joe Biden. Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle contentInterior officials said the lower total reflected a shift in strategy. With lease sales now required on a regular schedule under Trump, companies can place bids more selectively. Article contentTop StoriesGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.There was an error, please provide a valid email address.Sign UpBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Article content“When you are setting that level of certainty they know they don’t have to come all at once,” Laura Robbins, an acting regional director with Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told reporters after the auction. “We feel like this was a very successful sale.” Article contentBP Exploration & Production Inc. offered nearly $61 million for 50 successful bids, according to the agency. Woodside Energy offered $38 million for eight successful bids, BOEM said. A unit of Chevron Corp.’s 22 successful bids totaled $33 million, per the agency. Article contentEnvironmentalists criticized the sale, arguing it increases the risk of spills in a fragile ecosystem.Article content“A lease sale is the first step toward an oil spill catastrophe,” said Joseph Gordon, a campaign director with the environmental group Oceana. “This latest offshore drilling lease was mandated by Congress in the worst environmental bill in American history, and it will recklessly open millions of acres of our ocean to drilling and spilling. We need to protect our coasts, not destroy them.” Article contentArticle contentTrump’s signature tax-and-spending package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, mandates 30 Gulf lease sales and requires six more in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Draft plans unveiled last month by the administration call for holding 34 additional sales, including new areas off the coasts of California, Alaska and Florida, though those proposals are likely to be scaled back before final approval. Article contentIndustry groups welcomed the return to a predictable schedule, saying it provides the certainty needed to plan investments. Article content“The door has reopened to the Gulf of America,” said Erik Milito, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore energy producers. “Lease sales are foundational to US energy production and remain one of the most important tools to attract investment, support jobs in all 50 states and build American energy dominance.”Article contentTrending David Rosenberg: 10 reasons why we're now bullish on the Canadian dollar for the first time in many years News This generation of Canadians is rapidly increasing its wealth and may soon unseat the boomers Wealth This Canadian mine is as big as a city. 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David Rosenberg: 10 reasons why we're now bullish on the Canadian dollar for the first time in many years News This generation of Canadians is rapidly increasing its wealth and may soon unseat the boomers Wealth This Canadian mine is as big as a city. It has a basketball court and its chefs serve 4,000 meals daily Commodities Posthaste: A market phenomenon not seen in 50 years is raising red flags at the world's central bank News US Seizes Sanctioned Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela PMN Business