BOEM proposes 40-million-acre lease sale in Gulf of Mexico

WASHINGTON -- The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is to offer 40 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for oil and gas exploration and development in sales that will include all available unleased areas in the Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas.

Proposed Gulf of Mexico Central Planning Area Lease Sale 241 and Eastern Planning Area Lease Sale 226, which are scheduled to take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March of 2016, will be the ninth and tenth offshore sales under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017.

“As one of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico is a cornerstone of our domestic energy portfolio, offering vital oil and gas resources that further economic growth and continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper.

Proposed CPA Sale 241 will include approximately 7,919 blocks, covering 42.1 million acres, located from three to 230 nautical miles offshore, in water depths ranging from 9 ft to more than 11,000 ft. BOEM estimates the proposed lease sale could result in the production of 460 MMbbl to 894 MMbbl of oil and 1.9 Tcf to 3.9 Tcf of natural gas.

Proposed EPA Sale 226 will offer approximately 175 blocks, covering 595,475 acres. The blocks are located at least 125 statute miles offshore in water depths ranging from 2,657 ft to 10,213 ft. The area is bordered by the Central Planning Area boundary on the West and the Military Mission Line on the East. It is south of eastern Alabama and western Florida; the nearest point of land is 125 miles northwest in Louisiana. BOEM estimates the proposed lease sale could result in the production of 71 MMbbl of oil and 162 Bcf of natural gas.