Important Energy Resources News

The U.S. Department of the Interior sold leases on oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico today, receiving $538.7 million in high bids. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) took bids for 169 tracts on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the Bureau announced in a press release. 42 offshore energy companies submitted a total of 195 bids totaling $583 million, meaning most of the tracts had just one bidder.

Royal Dutch Shell plc will pause its exploration drilling activity for 2013 in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Shell inform that the time out this season will be used to prepare equipment and plans for a resumption of activity at a later stage. “We’ve made progress in Alaska, but this is a long-term program that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way,” said Shell Oil Company President, Marvin Odum. Alaska holds important energy resources. At the same time, securing access to those resources requires special expertise, technology and an in depth understanding of the environmental and societal sensitivities unique to the region. Shell is one of the leaders in an industry move into offshore Arctic exploration.