Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
3 min of reading 
0 comments 
Biden Administration Auction Raises US$ 382 Million With Companies Claiming Offshore Areas for Oil and Gas Drilling.
The Biden administration’s auction for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in US$ 382 million in revenue on Wednesday, with oil companies securing offshore areas in an event that likely will not be repeated until 2025.
This auction was the most profitable of any federal offshore oil and gas leasing sale since 2015, according to a count by Reuters. Shell, Hess, Anadarko, BP, Chevron, Repsol, and Equinor were among the 26 companies that participated in the bidding.
U.S. Oil and Gas Lease Sale Environment
The sale is likely to be the last opportunity for oil and gas companies to bid on developed areas in the Gulf of Mexico until 2025, according to the government’s five-year schedule, which includes a historically low number of planned lease sales.
-
Iran said that the Strait of Hormuz is open, but in practice only 1 non-Iranian oil tanker managed to cross in 24 hours — before the blockade, 100 ships passed per day.
-
Petrobras completes 1,300 hours of work and 15 km of subsea lines to connect the Búzios 90 well to the P-79 — the platform is ready to produce 180,000 barrels per day and is just awaiting ANP approval.
-
Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz completely open this Friday, and the price of oil plummets nearly 10% in a few hours — the largest drop since the beginning of the conflict.
-
While the world was paying more for fuel, the 100 largest oil companies on the planet raked in an extra $23 billion in just 30 days of blockage in the Strait of Hormuz.
An oil and gas industry group said the results of the sale underscored the Gulf of Mexico’s role as an economic engine and urged Congress to require more leasing.
The U.S. offshore oil and gas industry is ramping up and making investments vital to improve our energy, economic, and national security in the coming decades,’ said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, in a statement.
The sale of more than 72.7 million acres in the Outer Continental Shelf included 6 million acres that Interior Department officials attempted to withdraw months ago to protect the Rice’s whale habitat.
A federal judge ordered that the sale be expanded after oil and gas companies sued.
Impact of the Auction on the Industry
An environmental group said the oil industry was prioritizing profits over the environment.
‘Perpetual leasing, new fossil fuel export projects, and oil spills are creating a hellish situation for marine life and Gulf communities,’ said Kristen Monsell, the Oceans Legal Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
About 2.4% of the area offered received bids, according to a pre-sale statistics document published on the BOEM website. More than three-quarters of the tracts that received bids were in waters deeper than 800 meters (2,625 feet).
BOEM will release additional auction statistics later on Wednesday.
New Federal Law and the Biden Administration
President Joe Biden has sought to limit new oil and gas leases as part of his climate change agenda, but a new federal law made offshore wind leasing dependent on the offering of oil and gas drilling rights.
The Biden administration sees offshore wind development as essential for decarbonizing the U.S. energy sector.
The sale comes days after the United States and nearly 200 other nations agreed to begin reducing fossil fuel consumption to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Seja o primeiro a reagir!