The first lease sale in the natural gas-rich “181 South Area” in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area in two decades is proposed to be held on March 18, 2009, according to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS).

After the last lease sale in 1988, the president withdrew the 181 South Area as a potential drilling site and the area was included in the congressional moratorium on offshore exploration and production. In December 2006 President Bush enacted into law legislation lifting the congressional moratorium on 8.3 million acres in the Lease Sale 181 area and in a tract south of Lease Sale 181 (181 South Area) available for oil and gas leasing. Bush soon followed suit by removing the presidential restrictions on leasing in the area.

The proposed Lease Sale 208 encompasses 6,200 blocks covering more than 33.5 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. “What makes the Sale 208 noteworthy is the addition of the 181 South Area,” which includes 5.8 million acres, said MMS Director Randall Luthi. “The states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas will share in all revenue from leases in this new area.”

MMS estimates that the proposed lease sale could result in production of approximately 0.807 billion to 1.336 billion bbl of crude oil and 3.365 to 5.405 Tcf of natural gas. The acreage is located from three to 230 miles offshore in water depths of about 10 feet to more than 11,200 feet, the agency said.

For further information about the terms and conditions of the lease sale, contact the MMS office in New Orleans at (504) 736-2519.

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