By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 20 -- The US Minerals Management Service has scheduled Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 182 for Mar. 20 in New Orleans.
The sale would offer 4,407 unleased blocks covering 23.28 million acres.
The notice of sale includes proposals to encourage exploration and production, including:
-- Royalty suspension for the first 20 bcf of production from a well drilled 15,000 ft below sea level in 200 m or less of water, intended as an incentive to drill for deep-gas deposits in the shallow-water shelf area of the Gulf of Mexico.
-- Royalty relief on the first 5 million boe produced from leases in 400-799 m of water, intended to encourage earlier production.
-- Continuation of royalty relief incentives for leases in 800-1,599 m of water (9 million boe/lease) and for leases in 1,600 m or more of water (12 million boe/lease).
-- Opportunity to apply for discretionary royalty relief, under certain conditions.
MMS said it also is considering proposing that owners of certain leases be granted more time to conduct subsalt exploration analysis.
Of the leases offered in Sale 182, 1,370 blocks are in less than 400 m of water; 134 are in 400-799 m; and 2,903 are in 800 m or more of water.
The lease term for blocks in 400 m or less of water is 5 years, and the minimum bid is $25/acre; for blocks in 400-799 m of water, the term is 8 years with $25/acre minimum bid; and for blocks in 800 m or more of water, the term is 10 years with minimum bid of $37.50/acre.
