Gulf of Mexico lease sale yields nearly $110M in revenue
August 21, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
Building on five previous sales held under the Obama Administration's Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program) -- which have offered more than 60 million acres for development, and garnered $2.3 billion in bid revenues -- the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has auctioned 21.6 million acres in its Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 238.
The sale brought $109,951,644 in high bids for 81 tracts covering 433,823 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Texas. A total of 14 offshore energy companies submitted 93 bids. The previous five lease sales offered more than 60 million acres for development, and garnered $2.3 billion in bid revenue. The Gulf of Mexico sale offered all unleased areas (excluding those located in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary) in the Western Gulf of Mexico planning area, including 4,026 tracts from nine to more than 250 miles off the coast, in depths ranging from 16 to more than 10,975 feet (five to 3,346 meters). BOEM estimates the lease sale could result in the production of 116 to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 to 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. One of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of the nation's domestic energy portfolio to further reduce dependence on foreign oil, according to Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor. For more: © 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/gulf-mexico-lease-sale-yields-nearly-110m-revenue/2014-08-21 |