Fewer Than 1 Percent Of Offshore Tracts Auctioned By Trump Draw Bids

"Oil and gas companies bid on fewer than one percent of the offshore tracts made available by the Trump administration during an auction Wednesday.

Of the 14,622 tracts made available by the Interior department for bidding on 801,288 acres in federal waters off the Gulf of Mexico, only 144 received bids.

The percentage of tracts bid on was slightly less than the previous lease sale in March that leased just over 1 percent of tracts made available.

The last sale in March was the biggest offshore lease sale in United States history--with 77.3 million acres made available.  The sale saw 33 companies bidding on plots off the cost of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida for $124.8 million. Of the 14,474 tracts available for bidding only 148 tracts received any bids."

Miranda Green reports for The Hill August 15, 2018.

Source: The Hill, 08/16/2018