Several initiatives to increase domestic natural gas and oil production are included in the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Final Notice of Sale for Western Gulf of Mexico Sale 184, scheduled for Aug. 21 in New Orleans. The Final Notice was published in Thursday’s Federal Register. Along with the incentives, MMS has included the new required provisions to protect certain endangered and threatened species. The sale will be the first one scheduled under MMS’s current five-year leasing program, which will run through 2007 (see Daily GPI, April 18).

Incentives will be offered for companies involved in shallow-water deep gas production, and deepwater royalty relief will be offered for those exploring and producing in depths of 400 meters or deeper. MMS also adopted several new provisions in stipulation 5 of the Final Notice to protect certain species, including sea turtles and marine mammals. These were required after consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The species provisions will require seismic surveys to cease operations when a sperm whale is detected in a 180-decibel impact zone, with ramp-up procedures used; that operators report all sightings and locations of dead and injured endangered and threatened species, including sea turtles and whales; and that all aircraft used in operations avoid low flying near brown pelican or whooping crane areas.

Sale 184 will encompass 4,102 unleased blocks, comprising 22.3 million acres, in the Western Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf Planning Area in deepwater areas offshore Louisiana. The blocks are located from nine to 250 miles offshore in water depths ranging from eight meters to more than 3,000 meters. Estimates of undiscovered economically recoverable hydrocarbons expected to be discovered and produced range from 0.57 Tcf to 1.93 Tcf, and 10-90 million bbl. There are 1,973 blocks in water depths of 800 meters or deeper.

The final notice is posted on the MMS web site at www.gomr.mms.gov. Copies are also available by calling (504) 736-2591 or (800) 200-GULF.

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