Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has completed the Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program which will guide domestic energy leasing on the OCS from 2007 to 2012. The program proposes 21 lease sales in eight OCS planning areas in the Gulf of Mexico, off
“In developing the OCS oil and gas leasing program, the administration considered all potential energy resources that can be developed in a safe and environmentally sound manner,” said Kempthorne. “The OCS is a vital source of domestic oil and natural gas for
The program and the associated Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was to appear in the Federal Register on May 2, 2007. As required by the OCS Lands Act, the program was submitted to the President and Congress today and, after 60 days, the Secretary may approve it to take effect on July 1, 2007.
The program is in the fourth of five steps in its development, which included three periods of public comment, resulting in more than 125,000 responses. Two events occurred during the Program development—enactment of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 and modification of the presidential withdrawal in
The act, signed by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006, requires oil and gas leasing in 2 million acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area known as the “Sale 181 Area” and an area of approximately 580,000 acres in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area as well.
The President modified the presidential withdrawal for two areas in the OCS -- the North Aleutian Basin in Alaska and an area in the Central Gulf of Mexico, referred to as the 181 South Area. The areas were earlier withdrawn from consideration for leasing through 2012 by the previous administration. Congress had imposed moratoria on oil and gas activities in the
The program includes a
The program schedules eight sales in
The program also includes a special-interest sale in the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area off the coastline of
No lease sale would proceed without additional and more site-specific analysis of its environmental effects under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“The offshore energy industry has a re
The 2007-2012 OCS oil and gas leasing program is the seventh prepared since Congress passed the OCS Lands Act Amendments of 1978, which requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and maintain 5-year programs for offshore oil and natural gas leasing. The current leasing program runs through June 30, 2007.
Proposed Final Program for 2007-2012—
Lease Sale Schedule
SaleNo. |
Area
|
Year
|
204 |
|
2007 |
205 |
|
2007 |
193 |
|
2008 |
206 |
|
2008 |
224 |
|
2008 |
207 |
|
2008 |
208 |
|
2009 |
209 |
|
2009 |
210 |
|
2009 |
211 |
|
2009 |
212 |
|
2010 |
213 |
|
2010 |
215 |
|
2010 |
216 |
|
2011 |
217 |
|
2011 |
214 |
|
2011 |
218 |
|
2011 |
219 |
|
2011 |
220 |
Mid-Atlantic** |
2011 |
221 |
|
2012 |
222 |
|
2012 |
*
**Lease sale would only be held if the President chooses to modify the withdrawal and Congress discontinues the annual appropriations moratorium in the Mid-Atlantic.
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