March 25, 2018
Highlights from Timothy Cama’s story (Bids for offshore drilling rise slightly, The Hill) regarding the results of the March 21, 2018, auction of oil drilling rights in the Gulf.
“In total, 14,474 tracts were available for bidding. But only 148 tracts had any bids, just over 1 percent.”
“Of the 148 tracts sold Wednesday, all but 10, or 98 percent, only had one bid.”
“(Interior Secretary) Zinke had set high expectations for the auction, saying it would be a major indicator of oil industry interest in a time when oil prices are still significantly lower than they were four years ago and onshore drilling is booming.”
“‘I think this lease sale will be a bellwether on offshore probably for the next 10 years,’ he told a Senate committee last week.”