"The Biden administration's first sale of oil and gas drilling rights on federal land garnered thin industry interest on Wednesday while environmental groups filed two separate lawsuits seeking to invalidate the results.

The sales, which will continue on Thursday and cover eight states, were viewed as a test of oil industry demand for federal acreage amid soaring fuel prices and calls from President Joe Biden to increase domestic output.

The first day of bidding on 120,000 acres in Wyoming wrapped up with no bids on more than a third of the 105 parcels offered, according to online auction platform EnergyNet. Of the $12.5 million in high bids generated on Wednesday, $8.9 million was for a single 1,480-acre parcel in Converse County."

Nichola Groom reports for Reuters June 29, 2022. [2]