WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, March 19, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will officially open the Minerals Management Service’s Lease Sales 206 and 224 for the Gulf of Mexico. Sale 224 is the first oil and natural gas sale to include the immediate revenue sharing provisions for Gulf States that were mandated by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
Kempthorne’s opening remarks will begin at 9 a.m. CDT and will be immediately followed by his reading of the first bid. Lease Sale 206 includes 28.5 million acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico; Sale 224 includes 547,000 acres in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
At the conclusion of the sales, the Secretary will announce the final bid totals and discuss the comparative results of the sales as well as the new revenue sharing program at a press conference, where he will be joined by Stephen Allred, Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, and Randall Luthi, Director of Interior’s Minerals Management Service.
Media representatives unable to attend the lease sales in New Orleans may participate in the press conference at (800) 857-9037. At the prompt, enter code 7410457.
| Who: | Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management Randall Luthi, Director of the Minerals Management Service |
| What: | Secretary Kempthorne’s opening and closing of the Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 206 and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 224 |
| When: | March 19, 2008: 9 a.m. CDT for opening remarks and first bid reading; About 12:45 p.m. CDT for announcement of bid totals; Approximately 1:00 p.m. CDT for press conference. |
| Where: | Louisiana Superdome: St. Charles Club Room (2nd Floor), 1500 Sugarbowl Drive. Enter ground level, Gate A. New Orleans, La. |
| Media: | All credentialed news media are invited to participate. The press conference will begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. CDT. |
| Conference Call: | News media representatives wishing to participate in the 1:00 p.m. CDT press conference by phone should dial (800) 857-9037 and use the password 7410457. Please provide your name and affiliation to the conference moderator. |