MMS may hold Gulf of Mexico lease sale 181 and 182 on same day
25-01-99 The U.S. government said it may move up the date that energy companies could submit bids for a proposed oil and natural gas lease sale in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to December 2001 from March 2002.
The MMS said it was gathering information to decide if there was interest among energy companies in the proposed lease area, known as the Sale 181 area, located offshore Alabama and the Florida panhandle. The area includes 1,033 blocks over 5.9 mm acres.
The Sale 181 area is outside those waters that President Clinton withdrew in June 1998 from leasing until 2012.
The agency said it was considering having an earlier bid date for the Sale 181 area to hold it in conjunction with a separate proposed lease sale for the central Gulf of Mexico, known as the Sale 182 area.
Holding the lease sales on the same day may benefit energy companies who would have to deal with oil and natural gas exploration and development issues that are common to both areas, the MMS said.
The agency asked potential
bidders to indicate their interest in any or all of the blocks within the boundaries of the Sale 181 lease area. The agency said the information collected will help it conduct an environmental impact statement on the lease sale.
Under its current schedule, the MMS said it would take comment from energy companies through March and hold public hearings in September 2000 on a draft environmental impact statement of the lease sale.
A final environmental impact statement would be issued in June 2001, a final notice of the lease sale would occur in October 2001, and bids would be accepted in December 2001.
