Near-record oil and gas prices led to robust bidding in Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 198, which garnered $588.3 million in high bids from 82 companies, said the US Minerals Management Service. The total of all bids was $978.3 million, 38% higher than the bids submitted during the 2005 Central Gulf lease sale.
In the Mar. 15 sale in New Orleans, MMS received 707 bids on 405 Outer Continental Shelf tracts. Water depths of the tracts ranged from less than 200 m to 2,613 m. The sale involved 4,040 blocks covering 21.3 million acres off Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
MMS Director Johnnie Burton said the number of bids indicated the importance of the gulf, adding that bidders showed interest in deep gas in shallow waters as well as deepwater production.
Amerada Hess Corp. submitted the highest bid with $42.8 million for Green Canyon Block 287. Newfield Exploration Co. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. submitted the second highest bid, $34 million, on Green Canyon Block 551. Both those bids were for blocks in 800-1,600 m of water.
Amerada Hess also had the top high-bid total, offering $62.6 million total in 13 high bids. Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. was second, bidding $47.2 million in 12 high bids.
BP Exploration & Production Inc. submitted the most high bids: 73 for a total of $22.3 million.
Other companies on that list included Newfield Exploration, 6 bids totaling $32.2 million; Samson Offshore Co., 10 bids, $27 million; LLOG Exploration Offshore Inc., 11 bids, $26.6 million; Petrobras America Inc., 10 bids, $22.3 million; Repsol E&P USA Inc., 4 bids, $21 million; and Anadarko, 13 bids, $20.3 million.✦
