lease sale

The economic impact report looked at scenarios involving current policies and potential bans on both drilling permits and offshore leases.

Wyoming sold the most parcels during the recent US Bureau of Land Management’s auction for oil and gas leases on federal land.

Oil and gas operators played it safe in the latest offshore auction by placing about half the high bids typically made. As a result, the total dollar commitment for the round was the lowest since 2017.

GAO believes BOEM often undervalues its tracts offered to operators in offshore lease sales.

Australia’s BHP Billiton and the recently acquired Anadarko Petroleum submitted the largest dollar totals of high bids in US Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 253.

The major’s dominant showing in US Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 252 propelled another rise in bids and dollars for the biannual regionwide auction.

ExxonMobil and Hess led the way in the most active regionwide US gulf lease sale thus far.

Industry interest in US Gulf of Mexico acreage declined in the number of bids and the dollars offered at the latest federal lease sale, compared with the prior sale. But there was still some confidence shown in higher risk prospects.