Western Gom News

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that its Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 218, held today in New Orleans, attracted $337,688,341 in high bids and included 20 companies submitting 241 bids on 191 tracts comprising over a million acres offshore Texas. The sum of all bids received totaled $712,725,998. This announcement is consistent with steps President Obama announced in May 2011 to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly. “Today’s lease sale, the first since the tragic events of Deepwater Horizon, continues the Obama administration’s commitment to a balanced and comprehensive energy plan,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who attended the sale and provided opening remarks.

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will open Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 218 in New Orleans today at 9 a.m. CST at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with brief remarks. The sale, held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), has attracted 241 bids submitted by 20 companies on 191 tracts offshore Texas, compared to 189 bids submitted by 27 companies on 162 tracts during the previous Western Gulf Lease sale in August 2009. Blocks are located in federal waters from nine to more than 250 miles offshore, in water depths of about 16 feet (five meters) to more than 10,975 feet (3,346 meters). BOEM estimates that this sale could result in production of approximately 222 to 423 million barrels of oil and 1.49 to 2.65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will hold two public hearings in Houston, Tx. to accept oral or written comments on a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for proposed Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 218. The SEIS was prepared to update the analyses done in earlier environmental impact statements and to analyze new information regarding the western Gulf of Mexico planning area. WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, Houston, Tx. at 1:00 p.m. and at 6:00 p.m. WHERE: Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental, 18700 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Houston, Tx.

NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced it is seeking information and nominations from all interested parties regarding proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico Western and Central Planning Areas for the 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program. BOEMRE will analyze information received in response to this Call for Information and Nominations (Call), which will primarily identify and evaluate areas with potential for oil and gas development…

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has accepted high bids valued at $111,385,124 and awarded 155 leases to the successful high bidders who participated in Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 210 held August 19, 2009. Funds from the total high bids will be distributed to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury, shared with the affected States, and set aside for land and water conservation efforts that benefit all fifty states. The leases were awarded following the completion of an extensive, two-phase bid evaluation process to ensure that the Federal government receives a fair monetary return for the public mineral resources it makes available. During Lease Sale 210, twenty-seven companies submitted 189 bids on 162 tracts in the Western Gulf of Mexico.

The bids are in for Western Gulf of Mexico Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sale 210 to be held August 19. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Region announced that 189 bids were received from 26 companies on 162 tracts offered offshore Texas. “This sale is an important part of a balanced domestic energy plan that includes development of offshore renewable energy resources as well as oil and gas,” said MMS Director Liz Birnbaum. Reading of the sealed bids will take place August 19, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 300 Bourbon Street, New Orleans. The sales will be Webcast through the Offshore Oil Scouts Association at www.oosa.com. Real Player will need to be installed in order to run the Webcast.

The Director of Minerals Management Service, Liz Birnbaum, will host Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 210 in New Orleans on August 19. She will open the Federal oil and gas lease sale at 9:00 a.m. CDT at the Royal Sonesta Hotel with brief remarks. Immediately following the bid reading, she will hold a media availability to discuss the results of the sale. The sale, held by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), encompasses 3,435 unleased blocks covering approximately 18.4 million acres in the Western GOM Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area offshore Texas. The blocks are located in Federal waters from nine to more than 250 miles offshore, in water depths of 16 feet (5 meters) to more than 10,978 feet (3,346 meters).

A contract for the construction of a deepwater construction vessel was signed by Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., and Torch, Inc. The Guido Perla & Associates-designed 340 x 85 x 31 ft. M/V Midnight Warrior is a current generation construction vessel, equipped to provide offshore flowline installation, offshore umbilical installation and subsea construction and is capable of worldwide operations. Midnight Warrior is to be ABS-classed, Maltese Cross A1, Maltese Cross AMS, DP-2 Circle E for unlimited international service. The 15,000 hp vessel will be diesel electric, SCR, with three 3,000 hp azimuthing thrusters on the stern and two 2,000 hp tunnel thrusters in the bow. The U.S.

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has published the Final Notice of Sale for Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Sale 174. The sale will be held August 25, 1999, at the Hyatt Regency Conference Center (Cabildo Rooms), 500 Poydras Plaza, New Orleans. This is the fourth sale in the Western GOM, and the eight sale overall, in which blocks receiving bids in water depths of 656 ft. or more are eligible for consideration under provisions of the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act. The Final Notice of Sale offers all blocks in water depths of less than 2,625 ft. for a minimum bid of $25.00 per acre. The minimum bid on blocks in water depths of 2,625 ft. or deeper has been changed to $37.50 per acre.

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) is making available the Proposed Notice of Sale for Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Sale 174. The sale is scheduled for August 25, 1999, in New Orleans. Sale 174 encompasses 3,642 unleased blocks, about 19.81 million acres, in the Western GOM Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area offshore Texas and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana. The blocks are located from nine to 200 miles offshore in water depths ranging from 26 ft. to more than 9,840 ft. There are 2,120 blocks in water depths of 656 ft. or more. This is the fourth sale in the Western Gulf of Mexico, and the seventh sale overall, in which blocks receiving bids in water depths of 656 ft.