Offshore oil producers and their allies in Congress are asking the Trump administration to make it easier for them to get a break on payments to the government amid the coronavirus pandemic. Drillers working in the Gulf of Mexico argue they have been left high and dry during a historic rout in oil markets that saw the price per barrel briefly plummet below $0 . The lobbying effort comes after the White House declined last month to offer blanket royalty relief to all offshore oil producers. Instead, the Trump administration said it would consider granting relief on a case-by-case basis and encouraged companies to apply for a breakthrough existing royalty relief programs. But offshore drillers say there are too many hoops they need to jump through to secure a much-needed pause on payments. Companies producing oil and gas on federal lands, by contrast, are having […]