Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sales booming

March 20, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Oil and gas lease sales for federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico have garnered $872,143,771 in high bids on 329 tracts covering 1,707,358 acres, as the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offered nearly 40 million acres covering tracts in the Central and Eastern planning areas of the Gulf of Mexico, and opened bids from previously offered acreage in the Western planning area.

The lease sales build on the first three sales held under the five-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, which offered more than 60 million acres for development, and garnered $1.4 billion in bid revenues.

"The Gulf is a critical component of our nation's energy portfolio and holds vital energy resources that spur economic opportunities for Gulf-producing states as well as further reduce our dependence on foreign oil," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement.

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most productive basins in the world.

"While domestic energy production is growing rapidly in the United States, the Central Gulf of Mexico… will continue to be one of the cornerstones of the nation's energy portfolio," said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau.

Domestic oil and gas production has grown, with domestic oil production higher than it has been in 20 years and natural gas production at its highest level ever. Combined with recent declines in oil consumption, foreign oil imports now account for less than 40 percent of the oil consumed in America -- the lowest level since 1988.

For more:
- see the sale information here and here

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/gulf-mexico-oil-and-gas-lease-sales-booming/2014-03-20