BP Wins Oil Leases in U.S. Gulf of Mexico Near Spill Site
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BP Plc was the high bidder on 43 leases to drill in the central Gulf of Mexico where two years ago its Macondo well exploded, causing the largest U.S. offshore oil spill. The U.S. auction raised $1.7 billion.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc offered $406.6 million, or 24 percent of all the bids, followed by Statoil ASA with $333.3 million, the Interior Department said. Stavanger, Norway-based Statoil bid $157 million for a single tract, a record in the region, Tommy Beaudreau, director of the department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said today. BP’s total bids were $239.5 million.