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 totalling nearly 2,700 square miles (6,950 square kilometers) during a virtual auction hosted by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
