To the highest bidder: The first oil lease sale covering the entire Gulf of Mexico since 1983 would offer 73 million acres under a proposal from U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, The Associated Press reports. The regionwide lease sale is scheduled for Aug. 16. Zinke says opening more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling is a pillar of President Donald Trump’s plan to make the United States energy independent. However, it was former President Barack Obama’s administration that organized the five years of Gulf-wide sales that will begin in August. Regional sale attendance and bids have fallen with oil prices. The last regional sale, which will take place later this month, offers 48 million acres off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Last March, 44.3 million acres were offered there, but less than 2% of that area drew bids. Sales were even slower at the August auction of 23.8 million acres off of Texas.
Breaking up: Saudi Arabian Oil will pay Royal Dutch Shell $2.2 billion including debt to finalize the breakup of a 19-year refining partnership known as Motiva Enterprises LLC, Bloomberg reports. Saudi Aramco’s Saudi Refining unit will take full ownership of the Motiva Enterprises name and legal entity, including the largest refinery in the U.S. at Port Arthur in Texas, and 24 distribution terminals, according to a joint statement. Shell will take sole ownership of the Norco and Convent refineries in Louisiana and 11 distribution terminals. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the second quarter, the companies say. Read the full story.
Across the great divide: The U.S. trade deficit jumped in January to the highest level in nearly five years as a flood of mobile phones and other consumer products widened America’s trade gap with China, The Associated Press reports. The deficit in January rose 9.6% to $48.5 billion, up from a December deficit of $44.3 billion, the Commerce Department says. It was the largest monthly gap since a deficit of $50.2 billion in March 2012. U.S. exports edged up a slight 0.6% to $192.1 billion, helped by stronger auto sales. But that was swamped by a 2.3% surge in imports to $240.6 billion, led by mobile phones, oil and foreign-made cars. Read the full story.
