US to offer 21 million acres in the western Gulf of Mexico in August
sale
Washington (Platts)--24Apr2013/219 pm EDT/1819 GMT
The US will offer more than 21 million Outer Continental Shelf acres in
the western Gulf of Mexico in a lease sale in August, the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management said Wednesday.
Lease Sale 233 will include 3,953 blocks covering about 21.1 million
acres and located from 9 miles to 250 miles offshore Texas, BOEM said.
The blocks are in water depths ranging from 16 feet to more than 10,975
feet (5 meters to 3,346 meters).
BOEM estimates the sale could result in the production of 116 million
barrels to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 Bcf to 938 Bcf of natural
gas.
The sale, which will be held in New Orleans, is tentatively scheduled
for August 28.
This will be the third sale under President Barack Obama's five-year
leasing plan and the first under new Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
"The Gulf of Mexico is a cornerstone of the United States' energy
portfolio," Jewell said in a statement. "This proposed lease sale
reflects President Obama's continued commitment to safely and
responsibly develop our domestic energy resources to help create jobs,
foster economic opportunities and reduce America's dependence on foreign
oil."
The most recent auction, Central Gulf Sale 227, occurred in March. It
generated $1.2 billion in total high bids, one of the largest such sums
in the agency's 59-year history of offshore property auctions.
Western Sale 229 generated nearly $134 million when it was held in
November. Central sales are typically the larger of the two.
Last year's combined Central Gulf Sale 216/222, held under the previous
five-year plan, captured $1.7 billion in total high bids.
--Gary Gentile,
gary_gentile@platts.com --Edited by Jason Lindquist,
jason_lindquist@platts.com
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