US Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 259, held at the end of March, was closely watched as the first oil and gas auction offered in that area since November 2021. And given that expectations weren’t too high, the auction actually turned out quite well. It attracted 353 bids across 313 blocks and captured $264 million in apparent high bids – the highest total in six years. S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editor Starr Spencer spoke with George Laguros, a senior research analyst with S&P Global, about the some of the “surprising” results of the offshore lease sale and some interesting, if not unusual, bidding patterns pursued by some of the participants. Stick around after the interview for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.