The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in March 2023 it announced Friday. The lease sale is one of three offshore lease sales initially cancelled by the Biden Administration in May 2022. The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259 will offer approximately 13,600 blocks on 73.3 million acres in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The opening and reading of the bids will begin at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time on March 29, 2023.
Earlier this week, the U.S. administration proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government’s plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.
Lease Sale 259 was one of three offshore lease sales initially cancelled by the Biden Administration in May 2022. Part of the wheeling and dealing in the subsequent Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) mandated that BOEM hold Lease Sale 259 no later than March 31, 2023, and Lease Sale 261 by September 30, 2023.
In January, BOEM published a final supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the lease sale that analyzed the important environmental resources and identified robust mitigation measures to be considered in leasing the area. The lease sale terms include stipulations to mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species and to avoid potential conflicts with other maritime uses.
U.S. National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito said: “The [BOEM] announcement […] is vital to our national security interests and will contribute important energy supplies amid tight global demand.
“Our national energy needs clearly support a commitment to continued U.S. offshore energy development. U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore energy production is a key component of a national energy strategy that will ensure Americans can continue to have access to fundamental domestic energy that is produced safely, sustainably, and responsibly.”
“Operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico adhere to the highest safety and environmental standards. The multitude of companies involved in offshore energy development are working collaboratively to shrink an already small carbon footprint. From electrifying operations to deploying innovative solutions that reduce the size, weight, and part count of offshore infrastructure – thus increasing safety and decreasing emissions – the U.S. Gulf of Mexico hosts a high-tech revolution.
“Oil produced from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has a carbon intensity one-half that of other producing regions. The technologies used in deepwater production – which represents 92 percent of the oil produced in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico – place this region among the lowest carbon intensity oil-producing regions in the world . Policies that restrict domestic offshore development require imports to make up the shortfall, and that supplemental production comes from higher-emitting operations in other countries.”
First-ever offshore wind lease sale
U.S. administration proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government’s plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.
The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) announced Wednesday includes a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two areas offshore Galveston, Texas, one comprising 102,480 acres and the other comprising 96,786 acres.
The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and follows the Department’s approval of the nation’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects.
“The Gulf of Mexico is a true energy hub and there is already an amazing synergy between offshore oil and gas and offshore wind. NOIA members companies have been instrumental in the development and construction of offshore oil and gas projects and offshore wind projects. Now many Gulf Coast companies will have a chance to build new wind projects closer to home. The American offshore energy sector benefits for Americans of all walks of life and this relationship will strengthen with new offshore wind opportunities. We are excited for the offshore wind opportunity in the Gulf of Mexico.” Erik Milito, President of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), said:
Source: BOEM
From The TradersCommunity News Desk