BOEM conducts offshore 'Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1'
The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has reported that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has conducted Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1 (BBG1), which is the first mandatory offshore oil and gas lease sale required under the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The sale generated more than $279 million in high bids for 181 blocks across 80 million acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Who are the key players?
Thirty companies submitted 219 bids totaling nearly $372 million.
Reuters reported that bp was the most frequent bidder, according to sale documents, followed by Chevron and Shell. Other top bidders included Anadarko, LLOG Exploration Offshore, Talos Energy and Murphy Exploration & Production.
The auction's highest bid was nearly $18.6 million, from Chevron, for a block in the Keathley Canyon deepwater area. The second highest was a joint bid of $15.2 million from Woodside Energy Deepwater and Repsol for a block in the Walker Ridge area.
Top 10 companies based on total number of high bids submitted:
- BP Exploration & Production Inc. - 50
- Chevron U.S.A. Inc. - 22
- Murphy Exploration & Production Co. - 14
- Shell Offshore Inc. - 12
- Repsol OCS LLC - 12
- Talos Energy Offshore LLC - 11
- LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC - 11
- Woodside Energy (Deepwater) Inc. - 8
- Anadarko US Offshore LLC - 8
- Equinor USA E&P Inc. - 7
Top 10 companies based on sum of high bids submitted:
- BP Exploration & Production Inc. - $60,973,387
- Woodside Energy (Deepwater) Inc. - $38,083,648
- Chevron U.S.A. Inc. - $33,012,528
- Murphy Exploration & Production Co. - $27,388,989
- Beacon Offshore Energy Exploration LLC - $20,059,432
- Shell Offshore Inc. - $16,202,748
- Equinor USA E&P Inc. - $15,050,037
- Talos Energy Offshore LLC - $14,533,867
- Repsol OCS LLC - $13,884,219
- LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC - $8,371,442
View BOEM's map of active leases and bids received.
View BOEM's lease sale map that highlights bid distribution.
View BOEM's Dec. 10 lease sale day statistics.
What's the strategy behind Lease Sale BBG1?
Lease Sale BBG1 is the first federal offshore oil and natural gas lease sale since 2023, and the first of 30 Gulf of Mexico lease sales required by the 2025 reconciliation bill.
The lease sale aims to support President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” which directs federal agencies to accelerate offshore oil and gas development to lower energy costs, reinforce national energy security and enhance America’s global competitiveness.
The final notice of sale was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 10, 2025. Results will be posted on the BOEM's website, with a final statistical summary published within 90 days.
The BOEM offered about 15,000 unleased blocks across the Western, Central and portions of the Eastern Gulf Planning Areas. To improve participation and increase investment, a 12.5% royalty rate was applied for shallow and deepwater leases, the lowest deepwater rate since 2007.
The Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf spans 160 million acres and holds an estimated 29.59 Bbbl of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 54.84 Tcf of natural gas.
In fiscal year 2024, the DOI reported that offshore development generated $6.5 billion in royalties, $372.5 million in bonuses and $122.8 million in rental payments.
Comments from the industry
“President Trump made clear from day one that the United States will no longer be held back by bad policy or foreign dependence. Today’s lease sale is another major milestone in rebuilding American Energy Dominance by unlocking investment, strengthening our energy security, creating jobs and ensuring Americans have access to affordable and reliable energy. The Trump administration is delivering results, and the Gulf of America is once again leading the way.”
—DOI Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
“The strong bidding we saw today [Dec. 10] reflects sustained industry confidence in the long-term potential of the US outer continental shelf and the clear direction of this administration to expand responsible offshore development.”
—Acting BOEM Director Matt Giacona
"We applaud Secretary Burgum and Congress for restoring a clear path for long-term investment in the Gulf of America that strengthens US energy leadership and security. After two years of unnecessary delay in federal offshore leasing, today’s [Dec. 10] sale marks the beginning of a new generation of opportunity for safe, responsible development in the Gulf."
—American Petroleum Institute VP of Upstream Policy Holly Hopkins
"The door has reopened to the Gulf of America. After two long years without lease sales, Gulf of America Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1 is a milestone for America’s energy future. Lease sales are foundational to US energy production and remain one of the most important tools to attract investment, support jobs in all 50 states, and build American energy dominance. We applaud President Trump, Secretary Burgum and Congress for prioritizing the timely resumption of Gulf of America leasing. Continued leasing gives companies the resources they need to explore, develop and produce responsibly. These sales drive economic growth, support cutting-edge technology and provide a fair return to taxpayers. Barrels of oil produced in the Gulf of America have a much lower carbon intensity than foreign imports. ...Leasing is one of the tools to achieve energy dominance, and it is a critical one: the more leases offered, the higher the likelihood of commercially viable discoveries that keep investment dollars in the US and strengthen our global leadership."
—National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito
"Leasing on this scale drives not just resource production, it also fuels investment, creates and sustains high-paying jobs, strengthens Gulf Coast economies, and generates government revenue that supports public services and infrastructure. Importantly, production from the Gulf of America continues to play a central role in funding some of our nation’s most significant conservation and coastal-protection programs. Revenues generated from offshore energy development provide essential support for the Great American Outdoors Act and its permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, strengthening public lands and outdoor recreation access in all 50 states. In addition, through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, a share of offshore revenues flows directly to Gulf Coast states and communities, delivering critical resources for coastal restoration, hurricane protection, and infrastructure resiliency. As activity in the Gulf expands under BBG1, these programs—and the Americans who depend on them—stand to benefit from increased, reliable funding."
—BSEE Director and USA Energy Workers Founder Scott A. Angelle
About the Author
Ariana Hurtado
Editor-in-Chief
With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.
Utilizing her editorial expertise, she manages digital media for the Offshore team. She also helps create and oversee new special industry reports and revolutionizes existing supplements, while also contributing content to Offshore's magazine, newsletters and website as a copy editor and writer.
Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.