GoA BBG3 lease sale confirms stable leasing cadence

• Sixteen companies participated, up from 13 in BBG2, with activity levels between BBG2's 25 blocks and BBG1's 181
• Murphy outpaced Chevron to lead total high-bid spend, securing the sale's highest single bid of US$7.7 million for Blacktip (AC 380)

The Gulf of America (GoA) Big Beautiful Gulf 3 (BBG3) lease sale took place on 12 August 2026, the third sale under the BBG leasing program. Total bids reached US$99.5 million across 69 bids for 59 blocks, falling just short of Wood Mackenzie’s pre-sale expectations of approximately US$100–125 million. Activity levels landed between BBG2's 25 blocks and BBG1's 181, confirming the market is finding its rhythm under the new leasing cadence.

"Companies returned with refreshed budgets, more mature seismic data, and greater access to newly relinquished acreage," said Miles Sasser, Principal Analyst, at Wood Mackenzie. "Recently relinquished blocks made up 53% of targeted deepwater blocks, underscoring that fresh availability continues to drive competition in the basin."

Murphy stakes a bold claim in Alaminos Canyon

Murphy led all companies in total high-bid spend at US$21.4 million, narrowly ahead of Chevron, which won the most blocks. Murphy's most significant move was securing the Blacktip block (AC 380) for US$7.7 million, the sale's single highest bid, alongside Leopard (AC 691). Together with its earlier Baha acquisition from BBG1, Murphy has built a material discovered-resource position across Alaminos Canyon. The most contested block was KC 258, which attracted four bids totalling US$18.8 million; BP won with a US$7.5 million offer, beating out Chevron, Shell, and Oxy.

The average high bid came in at US$300 per acre, down 10% from BBG2's US$334 per acre. Total high bids across shelf and deepwater reached US$82.7 million. Deepwater dominated activity, accounting for 80% of all high bids by count and 98% of total high-bid value. Shelf activity remained subdued, representing just 2% of total high-bid value.

"With three BBG sales now on record, the leasing program's rhythm is becoming clear. The key question is no longer about acreage appetite, it is when operators convert their growing lease inventory into drilling commitments," said Caitlin Shaw, Head of Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) and Canada Upstream Research at Wood Mackenzie.