Exports, risks directly related

As the shale boom — led by the Permian Basin in West Texas — sends record amounts of oil, natural gas and chemical feedstock to the area, observers say safety measures also must expand.

WASHINGTON — Oil companies are piling into the Gulf of Mexico once again, according to federal leasing data.

An offshore lease sale held in New Orleans on Wednesday drew $244.3 million in winning bids, almost double what a similar lease sale drew in March 2018.

“Today’s lease sale shows strong bidding by established companies, which indicates that the Gulf of Mexico will continue to be a leading energy source for our nation long into the future,” Interior Assistant Secretary Joe Balash said in a statement.

After years in the doldrums, oil prices have stabilized over the last year. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was trading close to $60 a barrel on Thursday, up from less than $40 per barrel in March 2016.

That is driving renewed interest in offshore projects, the high

cost of which had driven away many oil companies while prices were low.

The Norwegian consulting firm Rystad Energy recently forecast that global spending on offshore services will rise by 6 percent this year to $208 billion and then rise another 14 percent in 2020.

That already seems to be playing out in the Gulf.

After recording less than $130 million in winning bids at a lease sale last March, the Interior Department recorded almost $180 million in high bids at an auction in August before Wednesday’s more than $244 million tally.