The
NewsRoom
Release # 3109
Date: July 15, 2004
MMS Issues Final Notice of Western Gulf
Lease Sale 192
The final notice of Lease Sale 192 for offshore
oil and gas in the Western Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico was
published in the Federal Register today. The Minerals Management
Service estimates the sale, scheduled for August 18, 2004 in New
Orleans, Louisiana, could result in production of 136 to 262 million
barrels of oil and 0.81 to 1.44 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The sale area encompasses 3,907 available blocks
on 21.2 million acres of federal land offshore Texas and Louisiana.
The blocks are located from nine to about 210 miles offshore in water
depths of four to more than 3,425 meters.
The final notice introduces recent changes that
were not included in the
proposed notice
of Lease Sale 192, published March 25, 2004. These
revisions are:
|
New deepwater royalty suspension price thresholds,
expressed in 2004 dollars, of $39.00 per barrel for oil and $6.50 per
MMBTU for gas.
|
|
A revision of the shallow water deep gas royalty
suspension provisions. This revision incorporates references to
recent amendments to the January 26, 2004, final rule and to recent
related Notices to Lessees.
|
|
A final
rule which requires compliance with the Department of the Interior's nonprocurement debarment and suspension requirements pursuant to 43
CFR, part 42, subpart C, was published at 68 FR 66533 on November 26,
2003. Each lessee must communicate this requirement to comply with
these regulations to persons with whom they do business related to
their lease by including this term as a condition in their contracts
and other transactions. This agreement will be evidenced by language
prepared by MMS through an Addendum included in each lease resulting
from this lease sale.
|
Other noteworthy matters in this final notice are:
|
The minimum bonus bid amount for tracts located in water
depths of 400-799 meters is increased from $25 per acre to $37.50 per
acre.
|
|
Mustang Island Blocks 793, 799, and 816, which have been
deferred from recent Western GOM sales, are now available for leasing,
subject to a recently revised lease stipulation for operations in the
naval mine warfare area. This stipulation requires exploration,
development, and production activities to be conducted from outside
the lease.
|
|
A revised protected species stipulation that is designed
to minimize or avoid potential adverse impacts to federally protected
species. Having completed formal consultations (pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act) with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MMS has
included terms and conditions as appropriate in the protected species
stipulation and in several Notices to Lessees. This revised
stipulation was applicable to Western GOM Lease Sale 187 (August 2003)
and subsequent sales.
|
In addition to the naval mine warfare area and
protected species lease stipulations, this final notice includes
previously adopted lease stipulations relative to topographic
features, military areas, and Law of the Sea Convention royalty
payment. The final notice also contains a requirement that every
bidder submit, by the bid submission deadline, a geophysical data and
information statement identifying any processed or reprocessed pre-
and post-stack depth migrated geophysical data and information in its
possession or control and used in the evaluation for each block upon
which they are participating as a bidder.
Complete sale notice packages, including the
Notice, sale maps and supporting documents, are available from the MMS
Gulf of Mexico Region Public Information Unit; telephone (800)
200-GULF or (504) 736-2519; or by written request to:
Minerals Management Service
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
Public Information Unit (MS 5034)
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394
Lease Sale 192 is scheduled for August 18, 2004, in the Versailles
Ballroom of the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, Two Poydras
Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Statistical
Information for Lease Sale 192
Size 3,907 unleased blocks; 21.2
million acres
Initial Period
5 years for blocks in water depths less than 400
meters: 1,823 blocks
8 years for blocks in water depths of 400 to 799
meters: 375 blocks
10 years for blocks in water depths of 800
meters or deeper: 1,709 blocks
Minimum Bonus Bid Amount
$25.00 per acre or fraction thereof for water
depths less than 400 meters: 1,823 blocks
$37.50 per acre or fraction thereof for water
depths 400 meters or deeper: 2,084 blocks
Rental/Minimum Royalty Rates
$5.00 per acre or fraction thereof for water depths
less than 200 meters: 1,623 blocks
$7.50 per acre or fraction thereof for water depths
200 meters or deeper: 2,284 blocks
Royalty Rates
16-2/3% royalty rate in water depths less than 400
meters: 1,823 blocks
12-1/2% royalty rate in water depths 400 meters or
deeper: 2,084 blocks
Royalty Suspension Areas
0 to 199 meters: 1,623 blocks
400 to 799 meters: 375 blocks
800 to 1599 meters: 968
blocks
1600 meters and deeper: 741 blocks
MMS
is the Federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that
manages the nation's oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on
the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters. The agency
also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from
Federal and American Indian leases. MMS disbursed more than $8
billion in FY 2003 and more than $135 billion since the agency was
created in 1982. Nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the
Land and Water Conservation Fund annually for the acquisition and
development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.
Relevant Web Sites
MMS Main Website
Gulf of Mexico Website
Media Contacts
Debra Winbush
(504) 736-2597
Caryl Fagot
(504) 736-2590
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior |