The NewsRoom
Release: # 3711
Date: August 31, 2007

MMS Issues Final Notice of Central Gulf Lease Sale 205
New Boundaries Enlarge Area Offered

NEW ORLEANS — Approximately 28.5 million acres of submerged land in federal waters offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama will be available for lease in October as the Minerals Management Service (MMS) holds the first Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) lease sale in its 2007–2012 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. MMS estimates the lease sale could result in the production of 0.776 to 1.292 billion barrels of oil and 3.236 to 5.229 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Lease Sale 205 encompasses about 5,000 unleased blocks located in the newly configured Central GOM OCS Planning Area in areas ranging from three to about 224 miles offshore. Water depths range about 12 feet (four meters) to more than 11,200 feet (3,400 meters).

The Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) was published in today’s Federal Register, and the public reading of bids received for the sale will be on October 3, 2007 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
 

The following revised provisions are fully outlined in the FNOS package:

New Administrative Planning Area Boundaries
Deepwater Royalty Rate Increase
Deepwater Royalty Suspension Price Threshold Changes
Lease Term Extension for Deep Drilling
Escalating Rental Rates

The FNOS, which contains the full terms and conditions for the sale and new official leasing maps and protraction diagrams, is available on the MMS Website.

To request a copy of the document write to:

MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Office, Public Information Unit

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, Louisiana 70123

or call 504-736-2519 or toll free 800-200-4853(GULF).

Media Contacts:
    Eileen Angelico  504-736-2595
    Caryl Fagot         504-736-2590

MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior

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