Gulf Lease

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. public lands is an integral part of President Obama’s comprehensive energy strategy for the nation,” Secretary Salazar said.  “A domestic energy plan that balances the development of conventional and renewable energy resources – both onshore and offshore – is essential to reducing our country’s dependence on foreign oil, building a clean-energy economy, and addressing the challenges of climate change.” Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 210, held in New Orleans by Interior’s Minerals Management Service, received 189 bids on 162 federal Outer Continental Shelf tracts from 27 companies. The sum of all bids received totaled $145,186,365.00.  The highest bid received on a tract was $28,133,843 for Keathley Canyon, Block 96 submitted by BP Exploration & Production Inc. The high bid for each block will go through a strict evaluation process to ensure the public receives fair market value before a lease is awarded.

Feds Unveil Central GOM Oil & Gas Plan

Obama Administration Announces Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale; sale Will Make Nearly 38 million Acres Available as Part of the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future.   The Obama administration has announced that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold the consolidated Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 216/222 in New Orleans on June 20, 2012

MMS Publishes Final Regulations for Bonus Bids

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) published a final rule regarding the use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) by oil and natural gas companies bidding on Outer Continental Shelf federal leases. The final rule provides additional administrative flexibility to allow the agency to require EFT payment methods when appropriate. The rule will save time and money for the oil and natural gas industry and the Federal government.

BOEMRE Completes Final Supplemental EIS for Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 218 in the Western Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. The SEIS updates the findings in several previously published environmental reviews covering the Gulf of Mexico. It also incorporates the latest available information pertaining to the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area following the Deepwater Horizon explosion

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

Mexican Gulf Energy Lease Sales – BOEM Issues Environment Analysis

BOEM's  'Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)' will aid decision-making on Gulf of Mexico oil & gas lease sales The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), with environmental analysis that will support decision-making concerning oil and gas lease sales scheduled in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years.

Husky Begins Oil Production and Expands Activities

Husky Energy Inc. announced that it has signed petroleum contracts for two additional exploration leases in the South China Sea. Both are located in the Beibu Gulf, north of Hainan Island and within 80 kilometres of the Weizhou oil fields. The agreement includes exploration lease 23/15, which is 1,327 sq. kilometres, and exploration lease 23/20, which is 1,543-sq. kilometres. A single exploration well is required in each contract area in the first three years of the contract.

Slow Recovery for GoM Oil Industry

The Gulf of Mexico's offshore petroleum industry is far from recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and at least one-sixth of the region's normal daily oil production will still be offline at the start of next storm season, the AP reported. Katrina and Rita destroyed 115 of the Gulf's 4,000 production platforms and damaged another 52, according to a report released last week by the Minerals Management Service, which manages federal offshore leases

Interior Department Plans Drilling Expansion

The Department of the Interior proposed leasing drilling rights in waters south of the Florida Panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico in a new five-year drilling plan that also would open waters off Virginia. The plan will cover the years 2007 to 2012. If given final approval next spring after a public comment period, the plan would be more restrictive than some drilling advocates want but not restrictive enough for some Florida lawmakers

Record Number of Rigs Drilling In Ultra-Deep Gulf Waters

The U.S. Minerals Management Service, which manages federal offshore leases, said a record number of drilling rig are working in ultra-deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen rigs are currently drilling for oil and natural gas in the ultra-deepwater of the Gulf at depths of 5,000 feet or greater. MMS officials say the record is the result of a decade-long trend of exploration companies looking to deeper regions of the Gulf.