The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Sept. 30 it will hold a lease sale Nov. 17 for oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lease Sale 257 will include 15,135 blocks that lie 3-231 miles offshore in water depths from 9 to more than 11,115 ft.
The royalty rate will be 12.5% for leases in less than 200 m of water and 18.75% for all other leases.
Bids will be accepted by mail only, and the opening of bids and announcing of results will be livestreamed.
The administration instituted a leasing moratorium shortly after President Biden took office but was told in June by a federal court to resume leasing in obedience to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
In announcing the lease sale date, BOEM added, “The Biden Harris administration is continuing its comprehensive review of the deficiencies associated with its offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing programs.”
BOEM and the Bureau of Land Management, the two leasing agencies for the Interior Department, may yet conclude that “deficiencies” should be corrected with higher royalty rates, higher fees, greater bonding requirements, and other changes, but much of that may depend on congressional action, possibly through the impending budget bill in Congress (OGJ Online, Sept. 10, 2021).
Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, issued a statement Sept. 30 welcoming the announcement of the sale date. He ticked off a number of points that might appeal to Biden and Congress, including high-paying jobs, government revenues for favored programs, reduced air pollution relative to the alternatives, and restraint of inflation, especially for low-income communities.
All terms and conditions of the Nov. 17 lease sale are detailed in the final notice available at https://www.boem.gov/Sale-257.