AmericasOffshore

Interest cool at auction for US Gulf of Mexico drilling rights offshore Texas

Bidding for offshore oil and gas drilling rights in the US Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday received only tepid interest with low sales recorded and a lower than usual number of bidders, according to Associated Press.

Industry analysts say the reason the auction drew less than $23 million from just five bidding firms is partly because of the falling price of oil and partly because the fields on offer, comprising nearly 22 million acres off the Texas coast, are in an area of the western Gulf better known for producing gas.

The public auction was held by the US Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) at the Superdome arena in New Orleans Louisiana.

With 33 tracts on the block for lease sale the five bidders submitted just 33 bids.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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