Lease Sale 220 offshore Virginia was included in the 5-year plan at the request of the Commonwealth of Virginia. No guarantees are set that that the sale will take place. The pending sale will rely on shows of interest/nominations and comments from the oil and gas industry.

The MMS recently issued a call/NOI for Lease Sale 220. This is a first step in gathering information, evaluation, and public participation for available acreage offshore Virginia. The sale is pending and will take place no earlier than 2011, according to the Mineral Management Service (MMS).

The area covers approximately 2.9 million acres offshore Virginia in the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area located at least 50 miles offshore. According to the MMS, the area could contain up to 130 MMbbl of oil and as much as 1.14 Tcf of natural gas.

Lease Sale 220 offshore Virginia was included in the 5-year plan at the request of the Commonwealth of Virginia. No guarantees are set that that the sale will take place. The pending sale will rely on shows of interest/nominations and comments from the oil and gas industry. The decision to proceed with the leasing process for Lease 220 will take place after a consideration of all comments and interest received.

Comments on the call are due by Dec. 29, 2008. Interested parties can comment in writing or by email by visiting the Mineral Management Service’s Web site at http://www.mms.gov/offshore/220.htm.