Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS– The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has reported that Lease Sale 250 garnered $124,763,581 in high bids for 148 tracts covering 815,403 acres in the Gulf of Mexico’s Western, Central, and Eastern planning areas.
Thirty-three companies submitted 159 bids that totaled $139,122,383.
Lease Sale 250 included 14,474 unleased blocks, located from 3 to 231 mi (5 to 372 km) offshore in water depths ranging from 9 to more than 11,115 ft (3 to 3,400 m).
BP Exploration & Production Inc. submitted 27 high bids totaling $20,068,202. Its highest bid, $2,900,526, was for the ultra-deepwater Mississippi Canyon block 564.
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. submitted 24 high bids totaling $29,448,882. Its highest bid, $4,240,226, was for the ultra-deepwater Mississippi Canyon block 740.
Shell Offshore Inc. submitted 16 high bids totaling $22,931,808. Its highest bid, $6,501,988, was for the deepwater Alaminos Canyon block 259.
TOTAL E&P USA Inc. submitted nine high bids totaling $15,106,525. Its and the sales highest bid, $7,000,728, was for the ultra-deepwater Mississippi Canyon block 697.
Hess Corp. submitted seven high bids totaling $4,524,223.
Byron Energy Inc. submitted seven high bids totaling $2,610,082.
Arena Energy, LP submitted seven high bids totaling $1,209,926.
SDB Offshore Energy, LLC submitted seven high bids totaling $1,048,320.
W&T Offshore Inc. submitted seven high bids totaling $797,700.
EnVen Energy Ventures submitted five high bids totaling $4,662,153.
BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. submitted three high bids totaling $5,282,860. Its highest bid, $4,130,860 was for Green Canyon block 823.
LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C. submitted two high bids totaling $4,620,222. Its highest bid, $4,133,333, was for Mississippi Canyon block 509.
Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC submitted five high bids totaling $4,030,280.
National Ocean Industries Association PresidentRandall Luthi said the results reflect slowly improving market conditions.
“While the bidding activity today reflects improving, yet still lower than desired commodity prices,” he said, “both the number of bids submitted and the total amount of high bids received are up compared to theAugust 2017 sale figures.”
Luthi added: “Bonus bids are an indicator of the ability and confidence of producers to invest in the Gulf of Mexico. These are not new fields, and producers are attempting to pick the best of what is left. From that view, the bids demonstrate a solid commitment by the oil and natural gas industry to continue to invest in US offshore energy and US jobs.
“While the outlook is promising, it also comes with a note of caution that with companies looking globally for exploration opportunities, the United States must continue to evaluate how to keep the Gulf of Mexico and other parts of the US outer continental shelf attractive in light of competition from Brazil and Mexico.”
03/21/2018
