The US government will offer about 23.5 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reported Apr. 5.
Proposed western gulf Lease Sale 248, slated for August in New Orleans, will be the 11th offshore sale under the Obama Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program for 2012-17. This sale builds on ten sales, already held in the current 5-year program, that have netted more than $3 billion.
“The Gulf of Mexico remains a critical component of the administration’s domestic energy strategy to create jobs, foster economic opportunities, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper.
Lease Sale 248 will include 4,343 blocks 9-250 miles offshore in 5-3,346 m of water.
“The decision to move forward with plans for this lease sale follows extensive environmental analysis, public comment, and consideration of the best scientific information available,” Hopper said.
