U.S. resumes oil, gas lease auctions

Texas

The U.S. government’s first oil and gas lease sale in five months kicked off on Wednesday, attracting weaker bidding in New Mexico than auctions that occurred before oil prices crashed during the pandemic, according to results posted on an online auction site.

The 2,800-acre sale was the Trump administration’s first since March, when lockdowns to fight the spread of the coronavirus crippled crude oil demand and prices tanked. It will be followed on Thursday with a far larger sale of more than 45,000 acres in New Mexico and Texas.