Gulf of Mexico lease sale draws $949 million in high bids
March 18, 2010
Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 213, held Wednesday, March 17, attracted $949.3 million in high bids.
Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS -- Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 213, held Wednesday, March 17, attracted $949.3 million in high bids. The sum of all bids was $1.3 billion.
Seventy-seven companies submitted 642 bids on 468 tracts comprising over 2.4 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
“The bidding activity speaks to the future of the deepwater Gulf in providing vital energy production for the nation,” says Lars Herbst, MMS Gulf of Mexico regional director. “There was also an increase in interest in shallower waters that offer deep gas potential, which is encouraging.”
A total of 151 tracts in water depths of less than 656 ft (200 m) received bids. This represents 32% of all tracts receiving bids, an increase of 5% from last year’s Central Gulf lease sale.
The highest bid received on a tract was $52,560,000 submitted by Anadarko and Mariner Energy for Walker Ridge block 793.
