The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has postponed an offshore oil and natural gas lease sale previously scheduled for Wednesday (Sept. 27), but the sale must occur by Nov. 8, following a federal court order.

The order issued Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit marks the latest development in a back-and-forth between the Department of the Interior (DOI) and oil and gas industry advocates over Lease Sale 261 planned for the Gulf of Mexico’s (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf.

DOI had sought to remove six million acres from the bidding process due to concerns over potential impacts on the endangered Rice’s whale, also known as the Gulf of Mexico whale, which is endemic to the northeastern GOM.  In response, the State of Louisiana, American Petroleum...