$264M offered in Gulf oil sale held under climate compromise

By KEVIN McGILL and MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Oil companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $264 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico in a sale mandated by last year’s climate bill compromise. Wednesday’s Department of Interior auction could further test the loyalty of environmentalists and young voters who backed President Joe Biden but were frustrated by this month’s approval of the huge Willow drilling project in northern Alaska. The auction was the first in the Gulf in more than a year and drew interest from industry giants including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron. Bids covered about 2,600 square miles, a fraction of the total put up for auction but in line with past sales of similar magnitude.