Lease Sale 181
Eastern Gulf of Mexico

• Lease Sale 181 in Eastern Gulf of Mexico is 11th sale on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

• Modified Lease Sale Area consists of 256 lease blocks (each 5760 acres) for a total of 1.47 million acres (original Lease Sale Area --1033 lease blocks totaling 5.9 million acres).

• Modified Lease Sale Area is 146 miles from Port Fourchon, Louisiana; 64 miles from Venice, Louisiana; 100 miles from Alabama-Florida State line; over 100 miles from Pensacola, Florida; and 285 miles from Tampa. No drilling off the coast of Florida.

• MMS estimates 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 185 million barrels of oil (44% of resources of original Sale 181 Area).

• Bonus bids expected to be at least $136 million.

• 60-day comment period on Proposed Notice of Sale; final Notice of Sale expected in October; actual sale in December 2001.

• Advanced announcement of release of draft Proposed Five-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. New Five- Year Program will not expand leasing in Sale 181 Area beyond boundaries announced in this Sale.

Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 181 Information
Schedule of Major Steps in Sale 181

• January 25, 1999- Call for Information Announced

• June 1999 Area -Identification Made

• November 2000- Draft of EIS Available for Public Review

• January 2001 -Draft EIS Public Hearings

• June 2001 -Final EIS Available to Public

• June 2001 -MMS sends Coastal Zone Management Consistency Determinations to States

• July 2001 -Proposed Notice of Sale Available to Public; Beginning of 60 day comment period by States

• October 2001 -Final Notice Of Sale Available to Public

• December 2001 -Lease Sale held
 

Federal onshore and offshore lease fund distribution

• $110.4 Billion collected since 1982.
• $69.9 Billion to US Treasury (62.4%)
• $16.3 Billion to Land & Water Conservation Fund (14.8%)
• $12.3 Billion to 38 States (11.1 %)
• $7.2 Billion to Reclamation Fund (6.5%)
• $3.1 Billion to 41 Tribes and 20,000 Individuals ($2.8%)
• $2.6 Billion to National Historic Preservation Fund (2.4%)

• Nearly $8 Billion collected in FY2000
 

Land and Water Conservation Fund

• Provides funds for Federal, State, and Local governments to purchase parks and recreation areas and to plan, acquire, and develop land and water resources for recreational use, habitat protection, scenic beauty, and biological diversity. Administered by National Park Service.

• Approximately $897 out of $900 million comes from offshore oil and natural gas development.

• About $16.3 billion contributed from FY 1982 to FY 2000.
• A total of $3.25 billion to fund 37,000 park and recreation projects.