Gulf of Mexico to see 41.2 million-acre lease auction

[misterhighwasted]

http://bakken.com/news/id/232138/gulf-mexico-see-41-2-million-acre-lease-auction/

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As a part of its five-year offshore drilling plan implemented in 2012, the Interior Department has scheduled an offshore oil and gas lease auction for March 18. The Hill reports that the auction will include drilling rights for 41.2 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.

There will be 7,788 blocks of unleased areas in the Gulf which could yield as many as a billion gallons of oil and four trillion cubic feet of gas. The auction will take place in New Orleans, though leases are included off the coast of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

Abigail Ross Hopper, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s new director, called the Gulf an important part of the Obama administration’s energy strategy. In a statement, she noted, “As a critical component of the nation’s energy portfolio, the Gulf holds vital energy resources that can continue to generate jobs and spur economic opportunities for Gulf producing states, as well as further reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”