The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has leased 169 tracts spread across 923,700 acres in the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The seventh lease sale since 2012 has received 195 bids from 42 companies, fewer than 380 bids received last year.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said: "While this sale reflects today’s market conditions and industry’s current development strategy, it underscores a steady, continued interest in developing these federal offshore oil and gas resources."
The lease sale 235 is part of a five-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program that aims to lease all the offshore areas in the region by 2017.
The first six sales under the program offered more than 60 million acres for development, earned $2.4bn in bid revenues and awarded 877 leases.
The highest bidder in Lease 235 was Byron Energy that bid for Eugene Island Block 18 for $32,223.
Statoil has successfully bid on 14 leases.
Statoil senior vice-president, exploration for North America Jez Averty said: "The acreage high bid today, completes our ownership of the Monument prospect, brings additional prospects in to our portfolio and strengthens our position in prioritised areas of the US Gulf of Mexico."
Lease sale 235 offered 7,788 unleased blocks, covering about 41.2 million acres. The eighth sale is schedule for August, when approximately 4,000 blocks, covering roughly 21.8 million acres, will be sold.
