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(11/17/2021/1900 PST)-AFTER ACTION SUMMARY: "The sale drew $191 million in high bids for 308 tracts across 15,000-plus unleased blocks. There were 33 companies participating, with bids totaling $198.5 million-plus. By comparison, the November 2020 lease sale generated $121 million in high bids by 23 operators." (Carolyn Davis, Natural Gas Intel)
(WW Petrol #007)--
"There is still time to keep your promise to end new leases on public lands and waters and address environmental racism. Please utilize your existing authority and defer Lease Sale 257 to reckon with the latest evidence and properly estimate and acknowledge the full range of impacts from lease sales in this region." (Jack Dutton, Newsweek)
"The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced that it will hold an oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 17, in compliance with an order from a U.S. District Court. The Biden Harris Administration is continuing its comprehensive review of the deficiencies associated with its offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing programs. Lease Sale 257, scheduled to be livestreamed from New Orleans, will be the eighth offshore sale under the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Lease Sale 257 will include approximately 15,135 unleased blocks located from 3 to 231 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico with water depths ranging from 9 to more than 11,115 feet (3 to 3,400 meters)." (BOEM)
The various blocks that are up for sale and not up for sale are found in the arcgis map of the Gulf of Mexico, a vast region of oil exploration offshore south from the United States. The map itself is available and divided into blocks under various letter-number designations; beginning with TX, LA and similar prefixes. The Federal Register file related to the auction of the leases lists certain blocks not for sale due to environmental restrictions. That more precise map showing the stipulations and referrals includes any number of off-limits areas offshore.
"Blocks Not Offered for Leasing: The following whole and partial blocks are not offered for lease in this sale. 1 • Whole and Partial Blocks within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (East and West Flower Garden Banks and the Stetson Bank as of the July 2008 Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas of U.S. OCS from Leasing Disposition ):Blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the United States Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern Gap:All whole and portions of blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, Public Law 109-432:" (Federal Register)
Whether or not the restrictions placed on certain sensitive environmental zones are taken into consideration by opponents to the lease auction is not certain. The Federal Register does make it clear that the leases are related to depth of water, drilling depth and length of the agreement. It isn't just some car auction where the buyer gets to look at the motor and kick the tires. There are strict rules regarding who can become qualified as a buyer and a number of deadlines to be met before the auction two days from now. By this late date, most of that has already been arranged.
What probably upsets the opposition most are the promises made by the Biden administration to scrutinize rampant drilling for petroleum worldwide and its contribution to the climate crisis. Opponents fail to recognize the Global West's dependence on the Global East for oil. Cutting back on fossil fuel dependence looks good at climate conferences but tell that to the average SUV National Lampoon vacation minded family enroute to Walley World, with a disregard not just for fuel consumption but to the astronomical prices at the pump.
According to a 2016 map published at the Sky Truth website, 2,366 oil platforms were in operation in Gulf of Mexico Federal waters. A spider's web of pipelines connects the various platforms to onshore facilities extending from Tampa, Florida to South Padre Island, Texas. The interactive map at Sky Truth can be tasked to provide information regarding each individual platform with Platform name, Company, Protraction Area, Lease Block, Staffing and Water Depth. It's an impressive array of oil production potential that appears to be overshadowed by the US dependence on OPEC.
Sources
Dutton, J., Biden Admin Set to Auction Off Over 80 Million Acres to Oil and Gas Drilling Companies (newsweek.com)
Filostrat, J., Lease Sale 257, BOEM Announces Oil and Gas Lease Sale for Gulf of Mexico | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Sale 257 Livestream, Lease Sale 257 | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (boem.gov)
WW Petrol oil platform, W.W. Petroleum oil platform | James Bond Wiki | Fandom
Oil Block Lease Map 001, BOEM Gulf of Mexico Protraction Finder (arcgis.com)
Off-Limits, Federal Register :: Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257
Oil Block Lease Map 002, Stipulations and Deferrals - Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257 (arcgis.com)
Walley World photo, 14 Road-Worthy Facts About National Lampoon's Vacation | Mental Floss
Gulf of Mexico platform map, Oil Infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico (carto.com)
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