MMS issues proposed notice of Western Gulf Lease Sale 192
  by: OilOnline
  Friday, April 02, 2004

The Minerals Management Service announced in the Federal Register the availability of the proposed notice of sale 192, an offshore oil and gas lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico, scheduled for August 18, 2004. The proposed sale 192 encompasses approximately 3,890 unleased blocks covering approximately 21.1 million acres in the western Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf planning area offshore Texas and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana. The blocks are located five to 357 kilometers offshore in water depths ranging from eight to 3,100 meters. MMS estimates the proposed sale could result in the production of 136 to 262 million barrels of oil and 0.81 to 1.44 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

In this sale, the MMS proposes to offer a royalty relief incentive for shallow-water deep-gas production from leases; the sale of Mustang Island blocks 793, 799, and 816, which were deferred from recent western GOM sales, subject to a recently revised lease stipulation for operations in the naval mine warfare area. For these three blocks, the stipulation will require exploration, development, and production activities to be conducted from outside the lease. The agency also said the minimum bonus bid amount has been raised from $25 per acre to $37.50 per acre for deepwater tracts located in water depths of 400-799 meters.

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