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Posts Tagged ‘Five Year Program’

Offshore leasing bills introduced by members of the House Natural Resources Committee

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on April 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

These bills probably aren’t going anywhere at this time, but would help strengthen the integrity of the US offshore program. The bills are generally consistent with the views expressed by Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Kelly (D-AZ) in a letter to the President.

  • The Unleashing American Energy Act requires a minimum of two oil and gas lease sales to be held annually in available federal waters in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, and in the Alaska Region of the Outer Continental Shelf.
  • The Securing American Energy and Investing in Resiliency Act requires the Department of the Interior to conduct all remaining offshore oil and gas lease sales in the current leasing plan and issue leases won as a result of Lease Sale 257.
  • The Strategy to Secure Offshore Energy Act requires the publications of the 2022-27 plan for offshore oil and gas lease sales by the time the current plan expires on June 30, 2022.

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Fundamental reason why regular offshore lease sales are imperative

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , on March 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, EIAP issued a report for API and NOIA that estimates economic impacts from leasing program delays. The fundamental reason for regular sales has not received much public attention, but is summarized succinctly in the report:

In most cases, additional leases are required to produce an existing field fully or to underpin the economics of processing and transportation infrastructure. It is thus important for the industry to have continued opportunities to secure leases through a predictable leasing program.

Keep in mind that US lease blocks are the smallest in the offshore world, too small for optimal development in deepwater and frontier areas. The smaller the blocks, the greater the importance of regular lease sales. Pictured below is a 2017 graphic graphic which superimposes Kosmos Energy’s blocks off Senegal and Mauritania on the Central Gulf of Mexico.  Note that the six West African blocks encompass 36,000 sq km and are the equivalent of 1600 GoM lease blocks.  

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