Western Gulf of Mexico lease sale 246 yields only $22.7 million in high bids

NEW ORLEANS -- The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its oil and gas lease sale for the Western Gulf of Mexico that drew $22,675,212 in high bids for tracts on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Texas. A total of five offshore energy companies submitted 33 bids on 33 tracts, covering about 190,080 acres.

“As one the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico continues to be the keystone of the Nation’s offshore oil and gas resources,”BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper said. “The continuing drop in oil prices and low natural gas prices obviously affect industry’s short-term investment decisions, but the Gulf’s long-term value to the nation remains high and the President’s energy strategy continues to offer millions of offshore acres for development while protecting the human, marine and coastal environments, and ensuring a fair return to the American people.”

Lease Sale 246 offered 4,083 unleased blocks, covering about 21.9 million acres, located from nine to 250 nautical miles offshore in water depths ranging from 16 ft to more than 10,975 ft.