Lease sales in GoM attract $3.7 billion

Two federal sales of offshore oil and natural gas leases in the Eastern and Central Gulf of Mexico attracted more than $3.7 billion in high bids, inaugurating enhanced revenue sharing with oil and gas producing Gulf states, instituting higher royalty rates and underscoring the region’s continuing importance as a vital source of domestic energy production for the nation.

The first sale, the Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 206, attracted a record-setting $3,677,688,245 in high bids. This sets the record in high bids in U.S. leasing history since area-wide leasing began in 1983.

Today’s lease sales mark an important milestone in sharing substantially increased revenue from offshore oil and gas development with states willing to support it, said Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, who opened the lease sales and announced the high bid totals.