New oil-drilling leases for Gulf of Mexico

[The Straight Story]

New oil-drilling leases for Gulf of Mexico


The Interior Department announced Friday that it would hold the first oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill last year.

The lease sale to be held Dec. 14 will include all unleased areas in the western gulf, covering 20.6 million acres off the Texas shore in water from 16 feet to more than 10,975 feet deep. The Obama administration said it would raise the minimum bid for deep-water leases to $100 per acre from the current $37.50 per acre. The current minimum has not changed since 1999, when oil prices ranged from less than $9 per barrel to $24.

The lease sale is part of a gradual return by the Obama administration to policies it was pursuing before BP's Macondo well blew out and spilled nearly 5 million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The Interior Department also gave an approval recently that moved Shell Oil one step closer to drilling next year in the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska.

Last week, there were 27 rigs operating in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, according to the department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Thirty-three rigs were operating when the Deepwater Horizon accident occurred on April 20, 2010. The number of rigs fluctuates from week to week.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-08-20/news/29908194_1_lease-sale-gas-leases-bp-s-macondo

[sasha031]

1. they will stop at nothing till there is nothing left

[DURHAM D]

2. Doesn't the government (us) also receive a percentage of the revenue once it is in production?

If so, I hope they have changed that % up from the 1930s rate of a 1/8th interest.

[NightWatcher]

3. Obama's spreading it around. Artic drilling, Gulf drilling, cross country pipeline

Hell of a week for the oil president.

If he's going to piss off the environmentalists, he's going to be sure to piss em all off

[dana_b]

4. that's exactly what I was just going to say

it is amazing to me... I realize that it's not JUST his decision however he has a lot of say and sometimes the final say in all of this. I feel sick.

[digitaln3rd]

5. Don't worry, the corporations might still vote for him

..at this rate, at least.

[Desertrose]

6. Insanity.....

what's that definition again?

Is that the one about repeating the same things & expecting different results....?