On March 11 a federal auction of offshore drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico closed with total high bids of $46.98 million, according to the livestreamed sale conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). A single $21 million high bid from BP for a Green Canyon area block accounted for almost half of the aggregate amount.
BOEM read the winning bids live on its website. Chevron placed the next-largest total, with high bids across three blocks that collectively approached $11.5 million. Other companies named as high bidders were Woodside Energy, Shell, LLOG Exploration and Anadarko.
Officials noted the level of participation in this sale was lower than what the industry demonstrated at a lease auction held three months prior. The administration has emphasized a return to frequent offshore lease sales; officials said there are plans for 30 lease sales in the region through 2040 as part of that schedule.
Lanny Erdos, the Interior Department’s acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, commented during the auction: "Today’s results are an important and necessary step forward. We have restored certainty. For far too long, the offshore industry has operated under delays and policy reversals." BOEM is an office within the Interior Department.
The auction was described as a U.S. government livestreamed event, with bid totals read directly from BOEM’s platform. Observers noted the comparatively modest total of $46.98 million and the concentration of value in BP’s single high bid.
The auction notice also included a reference querying whether CVX is a bargain, pointing readers to a Fair Value calculator that the notice described as using a mix of 17 valuation models to assess stocks. That statement stood apart from the lease results.
Summary of results
- Total high bids: $46.98 million.
- Largest single bid: BP, $21 million for a Green Canyon block.
- Chevron high bid total for three blocks: near $11.5 million.
- Other high bidders: Woodside Energy, Shell, LLOG Exploration, Anadarko.
- Auction format: livestream on BOEM's website.