US opens 81 million Gulf acres for oil and gas drilling in third mandated sale
The US will auction 81 million Gulf of Mexico acres for oil and gas drilling, the third sale mandated by a 2025 law.
The Trump administration will hold its third offshore oil and gas lease sale on Wednesday, offering more than 81 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. The auction is part of a broader push to expand domestic energy production through regular offshore leasing.
The sale covers 15,100 unleased blocks located between 3 and 231 miles off the US coast, in water depths ranging from 9 feet to over 11,100 feet. It is the third of 30 sales required under a 2025 tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump.
According to a pre-sale document released on Tuesday, 12 companies submitted 69 bids covering about 330,000 acres — roughly 0.4% of the total area on offer. The Gulf of Mexico was renamed the Gulf of America under a presidential executive order.
The upcoming auction follows two earlier sales mandated by the same law. The second sale, held in March, drew nearly $47 million in high bids for 25 blocks across about 141,000 acres. The first auction in December generated $279.4 million in high bids.
Offshore production currently accounts for about 15% of US output, though it has lagged onshore shale fields in recent years due to longer project timelines and higher upfront costs.
Bids will be read publicly via livestream on Wednesday. The sale is being conducted by the Marine Minerals Administration, an agency created by the Trump administration to combine the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.