Overview
- BOEM accepted 219 bids from about 30 companies covering roughly 1.02 million acres, or about 1.3% of the 81 million acres offered.
- Total high bids reached about $279 million, trailing the December 2023 Gulf sale that drew $382 million across 352 bids.
- Major players including BP, Chevron and Shell participated, with bidding concentrated in deepwater areas such as Keathley Canyon and Mississippi Canyon.
- The sale is the first of roughly 30 offshore auctions scheduled through 2040 under new law, with a reduced 12.5% royalty rate and the next auction planned for March 2026.
- Environmental groups signaled new court challenges as leases from 2023 remain blocked over findings that prior reviews failed to fully assess greenhouse gas impacts and risks to the endangered Rice’s whale.