NUS Interior Sec. Dirk Kempthorne announced a preliminary final 5-year Outer Continental Shelf leasing plan on Apr. 30 that DOI says could produce 10 million bbl of oil, 45 tcf of gas, and $170 billion in revenues if fully implemented.
The plan was submitted to Congress. If it does not act within 60 days, Kempthorne said, he is authorized to make it final.
The plan proposes 21 lease sales in 8 of the 26 OCS planning areas in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and Virginia, which Kempthorne said was added at the request of the state’s leaders.
The proposed lease sale off southeastern Virginia in 2011 includes a 50-mile buffer added at the state’s request. It also includes an exclusion at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to prevent interference with military activity and commercial shipping.
DOI emphasized that no federal oil and gas leasing would occur off Virginia unless a presidential withdrawal and congressional moratorium are lifted.
US Minerals Management Service said while there will be no leasing off Virginia immediately, companies can shoot seismic surveys while the area is still under moratorium.
“The estimates are pretty solid in the Gulf of Mexico because there’s been a lot of activity there,” said MMS Director Johnny Burton. “They are much less so because there’s been no leasing for more than 20 years. That’s also the case to some extent in Alaska. The data could improve if drilling takes place.”
Kempthorne said the preliminary 5-year plan includes two other areas previously not available, the North Aleutian Basin planning area off Alaska and the Sale 181 South area of the Gulf of Mexico.
The proposed 5-year leasing program runs from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2012.
