Trump's third Gulf offshore lease sale yields modest bids and lower revenue

The Trump administration’s third offshore lease sale in the Gulf of America offered roughly 15,000 blocks across 80.4 million acres, with depths exceeding 11,115 feet and distances from shore ranging 3 to 231 miles. Sixteen companies placed 69 bids on 59 parcels totaling about 330,000 acres, representing less than 1% of the area made available. High bidders such as Shell, Chevron, Equinor and BP drove the total high bids above $82 million, a figure that surpasses the $47 million raised in the March auction but falls short of the $279.4 million earned in the first December sale and the $382 million from the 2023 Biden-era auction.

The sale was administered by the Marine Minerals Administration, a merger of the Bureau of Ocean Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, following regulatory changes championed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and supported by the Pentagon. Deputy Interior Secretary Kate McGregor framed the auction as restoring certainty for the industry, while National Ocean Industries Association president Erik Milito called it essential for long-term energy security and affordable prices.