INDUSTRY OFFERS $589.5 MILLION FOR GULF TRACTS

Rick Hagar Gulf Coast News Editor Nearly 100 operators exposed more than half a billion dollars last month in an areawide sale of federal leases off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Minerals Management Service said a number of apparent high bids submitted in Sale 123 will be rejected because some companies did not sign their bids. The sale, conducted Mar. 21 in New Orleans and covering the central Gulf of Mexico, saw 96 companies offer $589,547,008 in 840 bids for 538 tracts (OGJ, Mar.