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US to Offer 80.4 Million Acres in Gulf of Mexico Oil, Gas Lease Sale

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The US will offer about 80.4 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing on Wednesday in its third offshore sale, as part of the Trump administration's effort to boost domestic energy production through regular offshore lease sales.

The US Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it will offer 15,100 unleased blocks located between 3 and 231 miles offshore on the US Outer Continental Shelf. Water depths range from nine feet to more than 11,100 feet, according to BOEM.

The sale is part of a schedule of 30 Gulf oil and gas lease sales required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump earlier this year.

The Interior Department has said the mandated schedule is intended to provide greater certainty for the offshore energy industry and support increased domestic production.

BOEM said in a pre-sale document released on Tuesday that 12 companies submitted a total of 69 bids on 330,000 acres, or about 0.4% of the 81 million acres offered in the Gulf of Mexico.

The authority said the second auction in March generated $47 million in high bids for 25 blocks across about 141,000 acres.

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