March 20, 2013
Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area Lease Sale 227 was held in New Orleans on March 20, 2013. Sale 227, just completed, resulted in 407 bids, by 52 companies, on 320 tracts, for a total of $1,595,397,446. The total sum of apparent winning bids was $1,214,675,536, on approximately 1.7 million acres. The last central sale in 2012, Sale 222 resulted in 593 bids, by 56 companies, on 454 tracts, for a total of $2,602,563,726. The total sum of apparent winning bids was $1,704,500,995, on approximately 2.4 million acres.
The big players, in terms of number of tracts bid on, are:
- Shell Offshore Inc. - 43 bids
- ConocoPhillips Company - 43 bids
- Anadarko US Offshore Corporation - 37 bids
- BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. - 35 bids
- Maersk Oil Gulf of Mexico Two LLC - 20 bids
In terms of total amount exposed, we have:
- Exxon Mobil Corporation - $224.2 million
- BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. - $198.5 million
- Shell Offshore Inc. - $166.3 million
- Statoil Gulf Of Mexico LLC - $100.7 million
- Plains Exploration & Production Company - $98.0 million
In terms of total amount of high bids, we have:
- Exxon Mobil Corporation - $220.3 million
- Shell Offshore Inc. - $139.8 million
- BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. - $107.2 million
- Venari Offshore LLC - $86.8 million
- Plains Exploration & Production Company - $82.6 million