US Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Andrea Travnicek announced that the region-wide Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 253 generated $159,386,761 in high bids for 151 tracts covering 835,006 acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 27 companies took part in the lease sale, submitting $174,922,200 in all bids.
Lease Sale 253 consists of 14,585 unleased blocks, located from three to 231 miles offshore, in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern Planning Areas in water depths ranging from nine to more than 11,115 feet (three to 3,400 meters). The following were excluded from the lease sale:
- Blocks subject to the congressional moratorium established by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006;
- Blocks adjacent to or beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern Gap;
- Whole blocks and partial blocks within the boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
We are excited about the results from today’s lease sale, which show a continued upward trend for the year. The total from today’s lease sale and the March sale is the highest since 2015 for high bids
stated Deputy Assistant Secretary Travnicek.
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Revenues received from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases are directed to the US Treasury, certain Gulf Coast states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama), the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund.
Leases deriving from this sale will include stipulations to protect biologically sensitive resources, address potential adverse effects on protected species, and avoid possible conflicts regarding oil and gas development in the region.
In addition, BOEM has included appropriate fiscal terms that consider market conditions. In recognition of current hydrocarbon price conditions and the marginal nature of remaining Gulf of Mexico shallow water resources, these terms include a 12.5% royalty rate for leases in less than 200 meters of water depth, and a royalty rate of 18.75% for all other leases issued under the sale.
