The on-again, off-again federal auction of oil and natural gas tracts in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is on again following a court order mandating the sale be held next month.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has rescheduled Lease Sale 261 for Dec. 20 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday (Nov. 14) ordered the auction to move forward. 

BOEM said it would “include lease blocks that were previously excluded due to concerns regarding potential impacts to the Rice’s whale population in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM will also remove portions of a related stipulation meant to address those potential impacts from the lease terms for any leases that may result from Lease Sale 261.”

The decision following two delays came after a successful court...