New US lease sale offers 76.9 million acres

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has released details about proposed Lease Sale 250, which would offer 76.9 million acres in federal waters offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The sale, scheduled for March 2018, includes all available unleased areas on the Gulf’s Outer Continental Shelf, according to DOI.

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“In today’s low-price energy environment, providing the offshore industry access to the maximum amount of opportunities possible is part of our strategy to spur local and regional economic dynamism and job creation and a pillar of President Trump’s plan to make the US energy dominant,” Secretary Ryan Zinke said. “And the economic terms proposed for this sale include a range of incentives to encourage diligent development and ensure a fair return to taxpayers.”

Proposed Lease Sale 250, which will be livestreamed from New Orleans, will be the second offshore sale under the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022.

Lease Sale 249, held in New Orleans this past August (2017), generated $121 million in high bids. France’s Total made the highest bid during Lease Sale 249 at $12.1 million for Garden Banks Block 1003, beating out Cobalt International Energy’s bid of $3.5 million. The sale was a reflection of both the industry's commttment to the Gulf of Mexico, but also current market realties, Randall Luthi, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President, said in August.

The estimated amount of resources projected to be developed as a result of the proposed Lease Sale 250 ranges from 210 million to 1.12 billion bbl of oil and from 550 MMcf to 4.42 Tcf of gas. Most of the activity (up to 83% of future production) from the proposed lease sale is expected to occur in the Central Planning Area, DOI said.

Proposed Lease Sale 250 includes 14,375 unleased blocks, located 3-230mi offshore, in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern planning areas in water depths ranging from 9ft to 11,115 ft (3m to 3400m).

DOI said that areas excluded from the lease sale are blocks subject to the Congressional moratorium established by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006; blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern Gap; and whole blocks and partial blocks within the current boundary of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

DOI set up a website for Lease Sale 250.