U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) is making available the Proposed Notice of Sale for Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Sale 171.  The sale will be held August 26, 1998, 9:00 a.m., at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 500 Poydras Plaza, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sale 171 encompasses 3,770 unleased blocks, about 20.59 million acres, in the Western GOM Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area offshore Texas and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana.  The blocks are located from 9 to 200 miles offshore in water depths ranging from 8 meters to more than 3,000 meters.  There are 2,322 blocks in water depths of 200 meters or more.

This is the third sale in the Western Gulf of Mexico, and the sixth sale overall, in which blocks receiving bids in water depths of 200 meters or more are eligible for consideration under provisions of the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act.  The Proposed Notice of Sale offers all blocks for a minimum bid of $25 per acre.

The Proposed Notice of Sale will be posted on the MMS Website at http://www.mms.gov.  In addition, copies of the document are available from MMS's Gulf of Mexico Regional Office, Public Information Unit, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123 (504) 736-2519; toll free (1-800-200-GULF).

Statistical Summary for Sale 171
Size:	3,770 available blocks; 20.59 million acres
Lease Terms:	5 Years — 1,621 Blocks - Water depths less than 400 meters 8 Years — 307 Blocks - Water depths between 400 and 800 meters 10 Years — 1,842 Blocks - Water depths greater than 800 meters
Bidding Systems:	12 1/2% Royalty - 2,149 Blocks - Water depths 400 meters and greater 16 2/3% Royalty - 1,621 Blocks - Water depths less than 400 meters
Royalty Suspension Areas:	200-400 Meter Royalty Suspension Area - 173 Blocks 400-800 Meter Royalty Suspension Area - 307 Blocks 800 Meter and Greater Royalty Suspension Area - 1,842 Blocks
Minimum Bid:	$25.00 per acre or fraction thereof - 3770 Blocks

The MMS is the Federal Agency that manages and regulates the Nation’s natural gas, oil, and other mineral resources on the OCS, and collects, accounts for, and disburses about $6 billion yearly in revenues from offshore Federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.