Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 213, held in New Orleans this week, attracted $ 949,265,959 in high bids. The sale was conducted by Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) and had 77 companies submitting 642 bids on 468 tracts comprising over 2.4 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The sum of all bids received totaled $ 1,300,075,693.

'The bidding activity at today's sale speaks to the future of deepwater Gulf in providing vital energy production for the nation,' said Lars Herbst, MMS Gulf of Mexico regional director. 'There was also an increase in interest in shallower waters that offers deep gas potential, which is encouraging.'

A total of 151 tracts in water depths less than 656 feet received bids. This represents 32 percent of all tracts receiving bids, an increase of five percent from last year's Central Gulf lease sale.

The highest bid received on a tract was $ 52,560,000 submitted by Anadarko E&P Company LP and Mariner Energy, Inc. for Walker Ridge, Block 793.

Each high bid on a tract will go through an evaluation process within MMS to ensure the public receives fair market value before a lease is awarded.

Tags: Minerals Management Service