Central Gulf

Billions in Bids Opened For Offshore Oil And Gas Tracts

A total of $2.9b in high bids were opened recently at a sale of federal offshore oil and gas leases in the central Gulf of Mexico. Officials say it was the second largest such sale for central Gulf tracts. Seventy-three companies are competing for the tracts. In all there were 1,428 bids on 723 tracts. The bids were opened by the US Minerals Management Service, which manages the leases. Many of the tracts receiving bids were in ultra-deep water, or in depths of 800 meters or greater. Development of such leases can take hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and take years to bring into production. Also drawing continued interest were tracts of 200 meters or less on the shallow Gulf shelf. They are considered prime ground for the development of natural gas deposits deep in the earth. The central Gulf sale has been generally held in March. This year's sale was delayed by a dispute between Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the federal Interior Department over the state's share of offshore royalties. In December 2006, Congress agreed to send Louisiana about $13b expected over the first 30 years for storm protection, flood control and coastal restoration projects. [Source: http://www.kwtx.com]

BOEM: 38 Million-Acre Oil &Gas Lease Sale in the Central GOM

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will offer 38 million acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration and development. Thesale will build on two major Gulf of Mexico lease sales in the last year – a 21 million acre sale held last December and a 39 million acre sale held in June. Proposed Lease Sale 227, scheduled to take place in New Orleans on March 20, 2013

Public Meeting in New Orleans for OIl & Gas Leasing

BOEM Will Hold Public Hearing in New Orleans on Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program.   The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a public hearing in New Orleans on Jan. 11, 2012, to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

U.S. Gulf Coast Braces For Tropical Storm Barry

Tropical Storm Barry, the second of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Barry had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, barely strong enough to be classified as a tropical storm. Tropical weather systems are given names when top winds reach 39 mph. At 3 p.m., EST, the center of the storm was about 320 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River at latitude 26.3 north, longitude 84.8 west.

Barry Misses, But Puts Serious Dent In GOM Production

Tropical Storm Barry veered away from oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, but by that point the erratic tempest had already knocked a big dent in U.S. offshore energy production, at least temporarily. Two of the biggest players in the Gulf of Mexico energy industry said that as a precaution against the storm they had suspended large volumes of oil and gas production, which taken together, represent a big slice of total output from the Gulf.

Offshore Lease Generates $115m

A sale of federal oil and natural gas leases for the Western Gulf of Mexico attracted $115,466,321 million in high bids, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced.  To date this year, the department has offered 55 million acres of U.S. public land – onshore and offshore – for oil and gas development, generating more than $875m in revenues. “The responsible development of oil and gas resources on U.S

Fla. Senators Fight Drilling Plan

Citing environmental concerns, Florida senators sought to scale back oil and gas drilling plans for a part of the Gulf of Mexico, hoping to push development farther from the state's coast, the Washington Post reported. But the Republican chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee indicated they would press ahead with legislation that would open more of the area to gas development at least 50 miles closer to Florida

Imtech Marine Appoints New Sales Managers

Imtech Marine is pleased to announce the addition of two Area Sales Managers to the Radio Holland USA team.    Mike Pizer of Houston, and John Schwiering of Ft. Lauderdale recently joined the Radio Holland sales team, adding more than 40 years of navigation and communication experience to the RHUSA sales organization. Radio Holland is a member of the global company Imtech Marine. Recently Imtech Marine announced the expansion of its service network in the USA to a total of 15

Obama Administration Offers Over 20 Million Acres

Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Yields $133.8 Million in High Bids on Over 652,520 Acres, Only Latest in a Series of Recent Major Offshore Oil and Gas Sales. As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today held Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, which offered over 20 millions acres and attracted $133,767

Deepwater Drilling Provides Good Long Term Prospects

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), deepwater drilling (1,000 ft. and deeper) shows the greatest potential of development, and certainly has garnered the attention (as well as the E&P dollars) of offshore oil production industry leaders. By yearend 2003, the MMS estimates as much as 63 percent of the oil production and 29 percent of the daily gas production will come from deepwater reserves