With one record-setting lease sale just completed, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has scheduled the next Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and gas lease sale to be held in New Orleans on Aug. 20.

The proposed Western GOM Lease Sale 207 encompasses about 3,400 unleased blocks covering approximately 18 million acres in the Western GOM Planning Area. The blocks are located from nine to about 250 miles offshore in water depths of 16 feet to more than 10,978 feet. MMS estimates that the proposed lease sale could result in the production of 1.64-2.64 Tcf of gas and 242-423 million barrels of oil.

The Proposed Notice of Lease Sale 207 and Notice of Availability of the Gulf of Mexico, OCS, Western Planning Area, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 207 (2008) Environmental Assessment were published in Tuesday’s Federal Register. Terms and conditions for Sale 207 are available on the MMS website at www.gomr.mms.gov.

Earlier this month the MMS said Central GOM Lease Sale 206 set an all-time record for the value of high bids received with a total of nearly $3.68 billion out of more than $5.74 billion in total bids and Eastern GOM Lease Sale 224 received more than $64.7 million in high bids out of $72.14 million bid (see NGI, March 24).

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