Winning bidders will pay just 16.67% for both shallow and deepwater leases, the minimum required by law and a significant drop from the 18.75% rate Biden’s administration charged for deepwater drilling.

By Jewish Breaking News

President Trump’s decision to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” in January wasn’t just about bragging rights.

It was a preview of an aggressive energy strategy now taking shape following the administration ‘s announcement last week of an 80-million-acre oil lease sale.

Scheduled for December 10, the auction will offer approximately 15,000 unleased blocks spanning an area larger than the United Kingdom.

Companies can bid on drilling rights located anywhere from 3 to 231 miles offshore, in waters ranging from 9 feet to more than 11,100 feet deep.

Unlike his predecessor, Trump is offering companies the lowest royalty rates in nearly two decades.

Winning bidders will pay just 16.67% for both shallow and deepwater leases, the minimum required by law and a significant drop from the 18.75% rate Biden’s administration charged for deepwater drilling.

Biden’s Interior Department had canceled various offshore lease sales and created what industry critics called the most restrictive offshore lease plan in American history.

His five-year program included just three Gulf sales from 2024 to 2029, a historically low number that frustrated oil companies and drilling states.

“To support robust industry participation, lower production costs, and unleash the full potential of the Gulf of America’s offshore energy reserves, BOEM is proposing a royalty rate of 16⅔ percent for both shallow and deepwater leases,” said Laura Robbins, BOEM’s Acting Regional Director for the Gulf of America.

Announced on Wednesday by the U.S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a 60-day public comment period begins June 27, allowing affected state governors and local governments to submit feedback on the proposal.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum positioned the lease sale as economic relief for Americans struggling with high costs.

“Unlike under President Biden, we will not leave our critical energy resources locked up when so many Americans are suffering through the unnecessarily high cost of living imposed by the previous administration,” Burgum said.

“Unleashing America’s energy resources will lower prices at the pump, at the grocery store and across all aspects of American life while strengthening our national security.”

Energy Information Administration officials predict that global oil production is expected to outpace demand through 2026, potentially pushing crude prices down 8% this year and another 11% next year.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officials estimate the Gulf’s outer continental shelf holds about 48 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 141 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Proposed oil rigging sites available for lease in “Gulf of America” (Credit: BOEM)

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For most Americans who have an updated version of Google Maps, they should only see “Gulf of America.” Mexican users should only see “Gulf of Mexico,'”while international users see both names.

By Jewish Breaking News

For centuries, the waters between the United States and Mexico have been known by a single name. That changed Monday when Google Maps users in the United States opened their apps to find a new label on their screens.

The change stems from one of numerous executive orders signed on inauguration day by President Donald Trump as part of a broader executive push to “restore American pride in the history of American greatness.”

He also revoked an Obama-era decision to officially recognize Denali by reverting it back to Mount McKinley.

For Google users, geography now depends on location.

For most Americans who have an updated version of Google Maps, they should only see “Gulf of America.” Mexican users should only see “Gulf of Mexico,” while international users see both names.

The move was expected after the tech giant announced in January that it would implement the change once the United States Geographic Names Information System was updated.

However, not all tech companies have fallen in line, as Apple Maps still displays the Gulf of Mexico.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum isn’t letting the change go unchallenged.

Last month, the Jewish president announced that she will be preparing a formal letter to Google questioning their decision to alter a name that has identified these waters since the 16th century.

“For us it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said. “By the way, we are also going to ask for Mexican America to appear on the map.”

But Google so far is standing by the change, pointing to existing policies that adjust map labels based on users’ locations such as operating system settings, SIM cards, and network connections.

Image Credit: Google

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