No bids were accepted during BBG1’s Phase 1 review. This means that none of the tracts receiving bids were determined to be nonviable as was the case for the 199 tracts that were improperly acquired for carbon disposal purposes in Sales 257, 259, and 261. (Unsurprisingly, neither of the acquiring companies has submitted an exploration plan for any of these CCS leases. The leases will likely expire without activity. Much to the dismay of the large and diverse group of opponents, the carbon disposal industry is focusing on onshore locations along the Gulf Coast.)
The 2025 Gulf of America Safety Compliance Leaders are ranked below according to the number of incidents of non-compliance (INCs) per facility inspection. To be ranked, a company must:
operate at least 2 production platforms
have drilled at least 2 wells during the year
average <1 INC for every 5 facility inspections (0.20 INCs/facility inspection). This is a higher standard (fewer INCs) than in previous years.
average <1 INC for every 10 inspections (0.1 INCs/inspection). Note that each facility inspection may include multiple types of inspections (e.g. production, pipeline, pollution, Coast Guard, site security, etc). In 2025, there were on average 3.2 inspections for every facility inspection.
operator
W
CSI
FSI
total INCs
facility insp
INCs/ fac insp
insp
INCs/ insp
Shell
3
8
1
12
231
0.05
557
0.02
Chevron
10
8
0
18
260
0.07
772
0.02
Oxy
2
6
1
9
133
0.07
325
0.03
BP
8
2
0
10
122
0.08
304
0.03
Murphy
6
2
0
8
70
0.11
177
0.05
Cantium
5
7
4
16
121
0.13
488
0.03
Gulf-wide 2025
815
445
84
1344
3179
0.42
10218
0.13
Gulf-wide 2024
957
398
109
1464
3133
0.47
10664
0.14
Notes: Numbers are from published BSEE data; INC=incident of non-compliance; W=warning INC; CSI=component shut-in INC; FSI=facility shut-in INC; INCs/fac insp= INCs issued per facility inspection; each facility-inspection may include multiple types of inspections (e.g. production, pipeline, pollution, Coast Guard, site security, etc), in 2025, there were on average 3.2 inspections for every facility inspection
Criteria: This ranking is based solely on BSEE’s published compliance data. The absence of timely public information on safety incidents (e.g. injuries, fires, pollution, gas releases, property damage) precludes inclusion of these data. Although Panel Investigations are conducted for fatalities, serious injuries, and significant pollution events, the last panel report was for an incident on 3/25/2022, and no information is available for any ongoing investigations. BSEE District offices investigate the more significant incidents that don’t qualify for panel investigations. These District Investigation reports are more timely, but some are not issued within 90 days of the incident. The District reports will be reviewed later in the year. Note that there were no occupational fatalities in 2025.
Observations:
The overall inspection and INC results for 2025 were similar to those for 2024.
The top companies performed better in 2025 than in 2024. In 2024, only 2 companies had INC/facility inspection ratios of <0.10 and only 3 had ratios <0.15. In 2025, all 6 of the performance leaders had ratios <0.15.
Shell’s total INCs and INCs/facility inspection decreased by 73% and 78% respectively vs. 2024
Cantium, which operates 85 shallow water platforms, has demonstrated that a shelf operator can be an outstanding safety performer. Cantium’s total INCs and INCs/facility inspection decreased by 50% vs. 2024
Should fewer inspections be conducted at facilities that have such low INC rates? On the one hand, fewer inspections would reduce regulatory costs and transportation risks. On the other hand, there are benefits from BSEE inspection visits besides compliance enforcement. These include direct communication with offshore workers (including contractors) regarding regulatory policies and safety practices, witnessing safety tests, evaluating new technology, and assessing management system implementation and corporate culture at the facility level.
Absent specific details on the violations, no attempt was made to weight the INCs. Although shut-in INCs are generally considered to be more significant than warnings, that is not always the case. For example, a component shut-in INC for a safety device that is marginally out of tolerance and is corrected on the spot may be less serious than a warning that is indicative of structural deterioration, poor maintenance, or organizational shortcomings.
Not meeting one of the activity level requirements, but nonetheless noteworthy, were the compliance records of LLOG and BOE Exploration & Production (younger than and unrelated to the BOE blog 😀). See their impressive results below:
“We have not been finding enough new fields.” That’s William DeMis, president of Richelle Court, LLC, who said that, in addition to not finding enough, we keep erecting new ways to export what we’re not finding.
The way, he said, to avert the coming shortage is for people to find new sources of gas outside of Haynesville field, which for years, considering its proximity to the Gulf Coast, and the petrochemical plants of Southwest Louisiana, as well as pipelines, made it a swing producer for natural gas.
“But I can tell you from bitter experience over the last three years that finding people to fund greenfield exploration is darn near impossible. There is scant capital to drill natural gas wildcats in the U.S.” said DeMis.
Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) data for November 2025 are scheduled for release on Friday, February 6, 2026.
The U.S. Census Bureau will release trade data (both imports and exports) for November 2025 on Thursday, January 29, 2026. As a result, we will delay release of PSM data for November 2025 from the original scheduled release date of January 30, 2026, until Friday, February 6, 2026. The delayed PSM release will allow us time to incorporate export data for November 2025.
Next week, BOE will rank the 2025 Gulf of America Safety Compliance Leaders according to the number of incidents of non-compliance (INCs) per facility inspection.
“Today’s announcement delivers on Harbour’s long-standing ambition to establish a presence in the deepwater Gulf of America. With LLOG, we found the right combination of high-quality assets and a talented team, providing a strong strategic and cultural fit with our company. The transaction positions us as a leading player in a region with well-established infrastructure, a supportive fiscal and regulatory environment and opportunities for additional growth.”
LLOG was the 6th largest Gulf of America producer of both oil and gas in 2024 with production of 27 million bbls of oil and 34 BCF of gas. LLOG was the high bidder on 11 tracts in the recent BBG1 sale.
Harbour is not currently a Gulf of America leaseholder.
Reuters had reported that Shell was in advanced talks to acquire LLOG. Apparently, either Shell lost interest or Harbour made a more attractive offer.
Which majors will be the most active bidders? BP (50 high bids), Chevron (22), and Shell (12)
Will former Gulf of Mexico stalwarts Exxon and Conoco Phillips participate for the first time in years? They did not.
How many companies will submit bids? Would like that to be a number >35. Only 30 companies participated.
How many tracts will receive bids? A number >300 would be very encouraging. Only 181 tracts received bids.
Will the total high bids exceed $400 million? No, the total was $279.4 million.
Will we see an increase in shelf interest? Shelf bidding continued to be limited (map). Renaissance, Byron, Arena, GOM Shelf LLC, Walter, W&T, Cantium, and WYOTEX Offshore submitted bids for shelf leases.
Which independents will be the most active? Woodside and Murphy are large independents, and their participation was most impressive. Murphy submitted 14 high bids totaling $27.4 million. Woodside had 8 high bids including the sale’s two highest for a total of $38.1 million, second only to BP in terms of the sum of their high bids.
The sale was beautifully conducted by BOEM, and Leslie Beyer – Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Dept of the Interior – and Matt Giacona, Acting BOEM Director, delivered strong messages in support of the OCS oil and gas program.
However, as a colleague commented just after the sale, it was beautiful but not big. He and I expected more given the time since the last sale and the attractive terms.
Below is a comparison with the previous 3 Gulf sales. More to follow.
Sale No.
257
259
261
BBG1
date
11/17/2021
3/29/2023
12/20/2023
12/10/2025
companies participating
33
32
26
30
total bids
2233
2842
3161
219
tracts receiving bids
2143
2442
2751
181
sum of all bids $millions
198.5
309.8
441.9
371.9
sum of high bids ($millions)
101.7
263.8
382.2
279.4
highest bid company block
$10,001,252.00 Anadarko AC 259
$15,911,947 Chevron KC 96
$25,500,085 Anadarko MC 389
$18,592,086 Chevron KC 25
most high bids company sum ($millions)
46 bp 29.0
75 Chevron 108.0
65 Shell 69.0
50 bp 61.0
sum of high bids ($millions) company
47.1 Chevron
108 Chevron
88.3 Hess
61.0 bp
most high bids by independent
14-DG Expl.
13-Beacon 13-Red Willow
22-Red Willow
14-Murphy
1excludes 36 leases improperly acquired for carbon disposal purposes; 2excludes 69 leases improperly acquired for carbon disposal purposes; 3excludes 94 leases improperly acquired for carbon disposal purposes
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 