The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is gearing up to hold is first ever lease sale via a live broadcast later this summer that will mark the last lease sale for the Western Planning Area of the current five-year program.
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Image of Hopper, from BOEM. |
Come 24 August, BOEM’s Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 248 will offer 23.8 million acres for oil and gas exploration and development offshore Texas, which will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. The lease sale will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will be the first federal offshore oil and gas auction broadcast live on the internet, delivering bid information immediately, and to a much broader national and international audience, BOEM said.
The announcement follows the US House Committee on Natural Resources’ unanimous approval to pass H.R. 5577, the Innovation in Offshore Leasing Act, that modernizes BOEM’s offshore leasing process through the use of internet-based oil and natural gas lease sales.
The bureau is aiming to promote greater government efficiency and transparency, eliminating the need for the public to physically attend the bid reading at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The livestream broadcast will begin at 9 a.m. CDT via BOEM's website.
The lease sale, which will include 4399 blocks, situated 9-250nm offshore Texas, in 5-3340m (16-10,975ft) water depth, is expected to discover and produce hydrocarbons consisting of 116-200 MMbbl, and 538-938 Bcf of natural gas.
Lease sale 248 marks the 11th offshore sale in the Gulf of Mexico and the final sale for the Western Planning Area, under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program).
This sale builds on the first 10 sales in the current Five Year Program, which offered more than 60 million acres and netted nearly US$3 billion for American taxpayers, BOEM said.
Leases issued from the August auction will also be the first for which BOEM will accept requests for extended initial periods, and confirm whether the lessee has earned such extension, a duty previously performed by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
“The decision to hold this sale follows extensive environmental analysis, public comment and consideration of the best scientific information available. The terms of the sale include stipulations to protect biologically sensitive resources, mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species and avoid potential conflicts associated with oil and gas development in the region,” BOEM said in a statement.
“The Gulf of Mexico continues to be one of the most productive basins in the world and is an important part of our Nation’s domestic energy portfolio,” Abigail Ross Hopper, BOEM director said. “This lease sale follows extensive environmental analysis and stakeholder engagement.”
“Making government data immediately available is a valuable resource for taxpayers, both in terms of dollars and cents but also in efficiency,” Hopper said. “Through the use of technology we can deliver our lease sale information in a much more effective and accessible way to a much wider audience.”
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