A federal judge invalidated the U.S. Interior Department's November oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico for failing to properly account for its climate impact, according to court filings from the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia.

The federal oil and gas lease auction of some 80 million acres (37.4 million hectares) had generated more than $190 million, the highest since 2019, and drawn bids from U.S. oil majors including Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp.