In a move that came as a surprise to some, today’s oil and gas lease round in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico generated substantial interest on Wednesday.

The sum of the high bids clocked in at $120 million, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Of the 14,900 blocks offered in Sale 256, 93 received bids, for a total 517,732 acres that received bids. Twenty-three companies submitted bids.

The deepest blocks generated the most interest, with 36 of the 93 bids coming in for the blocks at 1600 or more meters, and nearly all of the interest was in water deeper than 800 feet.

The block generating the most interest was block NH16-10 Mississippi Canyon. The block that attracted the highest bid was the ultradeepwater block NG15-06 Walker Ridge, which went for almost $12 million to Repsol/Equinor. It was also the block that attracted the highest bid per acre, at $2,083 per acre.

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Source: Oil Price