US schedules Gulf of Mexico oil exploration lease sale

All available oil and gas exploration and development areas in the Gulf of Mexico Central Planning Area will be put up for lease sale on March 22, the US Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced.

The area comprises more than 48 million acres situated offshore from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It is divided into 9,118 blocks, beginning at three miles offshore and extending to 230 miles, with depths ranging from 9 feet to more than 11,115 feet.

The areas will be available for oil and gas exploration and development. The sale will be streamed live, allowing national and international audiences to access pertinent information for bidding.

“As one of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico remains an important component of our domestic energy strategy to create jobs, foster economic opportunities, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil,” BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper Hopper said. “The exploration and development of the Gulf of Mexico’s energy resources will continue to help power our nation and drive our economy.”

The Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 247 will be the 12th and final offered under the Obama Administration’s current plan, which has run from 2012 to 2017. The previous 11 sales netted $3 billion.