Oil and gas producers on Wednesday submitted 421 bids totaling $197.395 million for a chance to explore in the Western Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Lease Sale 192. Forty-five companies bid on 351 tracts, with most of the bids directed toward leases in shallow water. MMS estimates that production from the sale could result in 136-262 million barrels of oil and 0.81-1.44 Tcf of natural gas.

The sale encompassed 3,907 blocks on 21.2 million acres of federal land from nine to 210 miles offshore Texas and Louisiana in water depths of four to more than 3,424 meters. Last year’s Western GOM Lease Sale 187 netted $258.7 million in total bids for chances to explore 3,996 blocks (see NGI, Sept. 1, 2003).

High Island, in the shallow waters off the coast of Galveston, TX, captured the most attention from bidders, and one of its blocks also received the highest bid. Houston Exploration Co. was high bidder in the sale with its bid of $6.775 million for a lease at High Island, East Addition, South Extension. Other high bidders Wednesday included Remington Oil & Gas Corp., which bid $4.87 million for the Garden Banks Block 506; Kerr-McGee, which bid $4.24 million for East Breaks Block 424; and Houston Energy LP, which bid $4.1 million for High Island Area Block 87.

The top 10 companies based on the total high bids submitted were Amerada Hess Corp., 58 bids, $13.731 million; BP Exploration & Production Co., 48 bids, $28 million; Petrobras America Inc., 37, $10.7 million; Devon Energy Production Co. LP, 26, $11.5 million; Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp., 24, $14 million; Shell Offshore Inc., 17, $5.5 million; Woodside Energy (USA) Inc., 17, $3.1 million; ConocoPhillips Co., 16, $3.2 million; Pioneer Natural Resources USA Inc., 15, $6.2 million; and Unocal Corp., 13, $3.24 million.

There were 135 bids submitted for leases in water up to 199 meters deep, followed by 101 bids for leases in water 800-1,599 meters deep. Another 55 bids were received for deepwater leases at depths of at least 1,600 meters, 37 bids for leases in water 400-799 meters deep, and 23 bids for leases in water 200-399 meters deep.

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