By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 22 -- The US Minerals Management Service proposes to expand the available acreage in Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale 205, scheduled for September 2007. MMS will accept comments on this proposal through Dec. 29.
The proposal seeks to include all available acreage in the Central Gulf of Mexico planning area in Lease Sale 205, which originally only included acreage along the eastern boundary of the Central gulf planning area.
While this additional acreage would be new to Sale 205, it is the same acreage proposed for the other Central gulf lease sales scheduled for 2008-12.
Lease Sale 205 is included in the proposed 5-year program for 2007-12 and the accompanying draft environmental impact statement. The comment period for the 2007-12 program remains open until Nov. 24, and the comment period for the draft EIS is open until Nov. 22.
The MMS proposal also includes the acreage that would have been offered in Lease Sale 201, which was originally scheduled for March 2007 and included all of the available acreage in the Central gulf planning area as proposed in the 5-year program for 2002-07.
As part of a lawsuit settlement agreement with Louisiana, MMS has agreed to prepare an EIS before conducting any additional lease sales in the gulf. As a result of this agreement, MMS is cancelling Lease Sale 201 (OGJ, Nov. 13, 2006, p. 27).
