Companies bid $192 million in 1st Gulf oil sale under Biden

Energy companies have offered a combined $192 million for drilling rights on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico in the first government lease sale under President Joe Biden

NEW ORLEANS -- Energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192 million for drilling rights on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, as the first government lease auction under President Joe Biden laid bare the hurdles he faces to reach climate goals dependent on deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.

The auction came after attorneys general from Republican states successfully sued in federal court to lift a suspension on federal oil and gas sales that Biden imposed when he took office.

Companies offered bids on 308 tracts totaling nearly 2,700 square miles (6,950 square kilometers) during a virtual auction hosted by the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It marked the largest total acreage and second-highest bid total from a government auction since Gulf-wide bidding resumed in 2017.

Driving the heightened interest are a rebound in oil prices and uncertainty about the future of the government leasing program, industry analysts said. Biden campaigned on pledges to end drilling on federally owned lands and waters, which includes the Gulf