Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease auction yields 25 bids

The auction received 38 bids from ten companies for 25 blocks covering 140,753 acres. This was the second sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in three months and the second of 30 mandated by U.S. President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending bill. The previous sale in December generated $300.4 million in high bids for 181 blocks. The total area offered in this auction was 80.4 million acres. The sale occurred as a U.S. war with Iran disrupted global crude flows and sent oil prices to four-year highs. Quotes: "Ten companies submitted a total of 38 bids", "25 received bids, according to the document of presale statistics.", "The blocks that received bids cover 140,753 acres out of a total of 80.4 million acres offered.", "The Trump administration's second sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in three months", "The auction is the second of 30 mandated by U.S. President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending bill", "The first, which was held in December, ended with $300.4 million in high bids", "181 blocks that received bids at BOEM's last Gulf sale", "The sale comes as a U.S. war with Iran has disrupted global crude flows and sent oil prices to four-year highs."