Arena Energy has been selected as the apparent high bidder for nine Outer Continental Shelf blocks in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) after participating in the Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 3 (BBG3) auction.
Organised by the US Department of the Interior’s (DoI) Marine Minerals Administration (MMA), the auction took place on 12 August 2026 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
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This event was the third in a series of 30 GoM lease sales required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Arena Energy’s successful bids, covering more than 40,000 gross acres in water depths ranging from 56ft to 266ft and at a standard royalty rate of 12.5%, span four Gulf areas.
The awarded blocks include Matagorda Island Blocks 519, 528 and 529; Eugene Island Blocks 277, 280, 281 and 340; South Timbalier Block 54; and South Pelto Block 25.
According to the MMA, a total of 59 blocks attracted apparently high bids, generating more than $80m across more than 300,000 acres from 16 participating companies.
Arena Energy’s new acreage is primarily located in the company’s core operating regions.
The latest additions build upon Arena Energy’s existing shallow-water activity in the GoM, following its participation in earlier Big Beautiful Gulf lease sales.
Arena Energy CEO and founder Mike Minarovic said: “Lease sales are the lifeblood of continued production in the US Gulf of America, where we produce the cleanest barrels in the world.
“Arena has built its business by finding value in mature areas of the Gulf of America Shelf that others have passed over, and BBG3 gives us more opportunities to do exactly that.”
Since its inception in 1999, Arena Energy has invested more than $5bn in the region, paid $1.8bn in royalties to the federal government, and carried out decommissioning for more than 300 wells and over 45 platforms and structures.
In a related development, White Fleet Drilling, described as a strategic partner and preferred drilling contractor for Arena Energy, recently began a multi-well drilling programme on the latter’s GoM assets.
White Fleet’s WFD 450 jack-up drilling rig, said to be the deepest-rated water depth jack-up rig currently operating in the GoM, started work following the completion of a $65m acquisition and refurbishment process.
