BP PLC appeared to win new drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, less than a week after a federal ban was lifted that kept the company doing business with the U.S. government for 16 months.

London-based BP was the high bidder on 24 oil and gas blocks offshore out of 31 properties it pursued in the auction. The company will pay $41.6 million for new access to explore in U.S. waters off the coasts of Louisiana and Alabama.

The deal marks the first time since November 2012 that BP has been able to expand its offshore drilling sites in the Gulf. The Environmental Protection Agency banned BP from getting any new government contracts, including offshore leases and jet fuel supply agreements with the military, in the wake of the company's guilty plea to several criminal charges related to its deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill.

EPA officials and BP reached an agreement late last week to lift that ban on federal contracts in exchange for heightened safety, operations, ethics and corporate governance requirements at the company.

The last time BP bid for offshore oil and gas leases was June 2012 when it paid $47.9 million for 43 blocks in the Gulf.

A total of 42 companies offered $850 million in Wednesday's auction held in New Orleans, bidding on 326 out of 7,511 blocks available. Interest was lower than a March 2013 auction that raised $1.2 billion for 320 offshore blocks.

Other high bidders for Gulf oil and gas leases include Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC, which will spend $321 million on 16 blocks; Chevron Inc. which bid $103 million for six blocks; and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which will spend $45.5 million for four blocks.

Write to Tom Fowler at tom.fowler@wsj.com

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