Record-size US Offshore Oil Lease Sale Draws Modest Bidding
Oil and gas drillers bid modestly on Gulf of Mexico acreage in the largest lease sale in American history on Wednesday, dealing a setback to the Trump administration's efforts to rapidly pump up investment in the region. The Interior Department had offered up a record 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) for development in the Gulf with discounted royalty rates on the shallower tracts as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to ramp up U.S. fossil fuels output. But companies bid on just 1 percent of that acreage, and won those tracts with bids
US Issues Alert on Offshore Oil Equipment Problems
The U.S. Interior Department issued a safety alert on Tuesday, warning offshore oil and gas drillers about a "recurring problem of connector and bolt failures" in equipment including blowout preventers. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a unit of the department, said it was aware of the problem, which affected components used in risers and underwater blowout preventers used in offshore drilling. "These failures are of great concern to BSEE due to their frequency and the potential for a catastrophic event," the agency said. In 2012, failures
February 2025
