U.S. Department of the InteriorDOI News Header
Office of the Secretary
October 2, 2007
Contact: Chris Paolino
(202) 208-6416

MEDIA ADVISORY

Secretary Kempthorne to Open Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will formally open Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 205 at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 3, in New Orleans, La.

The Minerals Management Service, which is responsible for the lease sale, estimates the sale of these oil and gas rights in the Gulf of Mexico could result in the production of 776 million to 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 3.2 to 5.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Lease Sale 205 encompasses about 5,000 blocks located in the newly configured Central Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area. The blocks extend from three to about 224 miles offshore, ranging in depth from about 12 feet (four meters) to more than 11,200 feet (3,400 meters).

The lease sale, expected to be one of the largest in history, is the second under the new Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program which went into effect on July 1, 2007.


Who:Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne
What: Opening of Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 205
When:9:00 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Where:Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
500 Canal Street
New Orleans, La
Media: For more information about the sale, members of the media should contact Eileen Angelico at (504) 736-2595 or Caryl Fagot (504) 736-2590.
 
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