"Federal officials brought in $539 million in high bids Wednesday for the rights to drill for oil and natural gas in almost 1 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.
The auction in New Orleans resulted in leases of 169 drilling tracts from 42 companies, the seventh offshore oil and gas auction under the Obama administration’s 2012-2017 offshore drilling plan.
Abigal Hopper, director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversaw the auction, said the sale shows strong interest in offshore drilling despite the six-year low in oil prices worldwide."
Timothy Cama reports for The Hill March 18, 2015.
Source: The Hill, 03/19/2015
Advertisement 
