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32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News GOM Lease Sales Up 38 Percent Near record oil and gas prices led to robust bidding in an offshore federal lease sale recently. The Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 198, garnered $588,309,791 in high bids from 82 com- panies for oil and natural gas leases in the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The total of all bids was $978,310,887. This represents a 38 per- cent increase over last years Central Gulf Sale. The sale was held in New Orleans and conducted by the Minerals Management Service. In Sale 198 the agency received 707 bids on 405 tracts. Johnnie Burton, Director of the Minerals Management Service, spoke briefly at the sale. "The Department is committed to working with all interested parties to enhance energy development in an envi- ronmentally responsible manner in available areas of the Gulf," she said. In this sale, 4040 blocks comprising approximately 21.3 million acres off- shore Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi were offered. While interest in deep water produc- tion continues, the large number of tracts receiving bids in shallow water is of particular note, indicating industry interest in deep gas in shallow waters, as well as deep water oil and gas produc- tion. Amerada Hess Corporation submit- ted the highest bid on Green Canyon Block 287 for $42,789,994. Newfield Exploration Company and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation submitted the second highest bid on Green Canyon Block 551 for $33,989,760. Each of the high bids on a block will go through an evaluation process to ensure the public receives fair market value before a lease is awarded. Top 5 Companies by Number of High Bids: Company Total High Bids Sum of High Bids BP Exploration & Production Inc. 73 $22,276,118 BHP Billiton Petroleum Inc. 26 $7,661,284 Hunt Oil Company 23 $10,943,280 Dominion Exploration & 16 $41,417,099 Production Inc. Hydro Gulf of Mexico, L.L.C. 14 $20,117, 740 Top 5 Companies by Amount of High Bids: Company Total High Bids Sum of High Bids Amerada Hess Corporation 13 $62,593,922 Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. 12 $47,162,990 Dominion Exploration & 16 $41,417,099 Production Inc. Newfield Exploration Company 6 $32, 208,909 Samson Offshore Company 10 $27,109,326 1 # ) A D H E R E S T O 1 ! 1 # A N D S A F E T Y P O L I C I E S A N D P R O C E D U R E S T O P R O V I D E T O T A L Q U A L I T Y P R O D U C T S A N D S E R V I C E S 1 # ) C O M P L I E S W I T H . A T I O N A L A N D ) N T E R N A T I O N A L - A R I T I M E 2 E G U L A T I O N S ) N C L U D I N G 5 , ) % % % . / 2 3 / + 5 3 # ' ! 3 - % ! " 3 $ . 6 3 / , ! 3 ! C C O M M O D A T I O N S % L E C T R I C A L % L E C T R O N I C S ( 6 ! # 3 E R V I C E S 4 H E 3 I N G L E 3 O U R C E 0 R O V I D E R F O R - A R I N E 3 E R V I C E S s 7 A L L S # E I L I N G S & L O O R I N G s $ O O R S 7 I N D O W S s & U R N I S H I N G S s 0 L U M B I N G s ( 6 ! # s $ E S I G N % N G I N E E R I N G s 0 R O J E C T - A N A G E M E N T s 0 U R P O S E " U I L T ! C C O M M O D A T I O N S s - O D U L A R $ E S I G N # O N S T R U C T I O N s ' E N E R A T O R 3 W I T C H B O A R D s 3 H O R E 0 O W E R s 0 O W E R , O A D # E N T E R S s - O T O R # O N T R O L # E N T E R S s , I G H T I N G $ I S T R I B U T I O N s $ E G A U S S I N G 3 Y S T E M s 7 A V E G U I D E ) N S T A L L A T I O N s ) N T E G R A T E D " R I D G E 3 Y S T E M s & I R E 3 M O K E $ E T E C T I O N s ) N T E R I O R # O M M U N I C A T I O N s . A V I G A T I O N # O M M A N D s - A C H I N E R Y - O N I T O R I N G s & I B E R / P T I C S s 4 H E R M A L ) M A G I N G 7 I L L O W B R O O K 0 A R K $ R I V E ( O U S T O N 4 E X A S 0 H O N E & A X W W W Q C I M A R I N E C O M Circle 264 on Reader Service Card Offshore Annual Keppel Wins $270M GlobalSantaFe Contract Keppel FELS Ltd won a contract with GlobalSantaFe Corporation (GSF) to build an ultra-deepwater drilling rig for $270 million. GSF will supply the drilling and sub-sea equipment while Keppel FELS provides the design, engi- neering and construction of the hull as well as the accommodation quarters for 180 and marine equipment. The rig, to be named the GSF Development Driller III, is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2009. The semisubmersible will be built to the proprietary design, DSS-51, jointly designed and developed by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group (DTG) and Marine Structure Consultants (MSC). According to ODS- Petrodata's 12-monthly rolling forecast between February 2006 and January 2007, the demand for semisubmersibles is expected to rise from 141 to 167 units while the marketed supply remains inelastic from 152 to 153. Even as uti- lization levels approach full capacity, global demand for the mobile offshore drilling units shows no sign of slowing down. The DSS-51 rig is designed to be maintenance-friendly with safety fea- tures suited for both exploration and development drilling. MR APRIL2006 #4 (25-32).qxd 4/5/2006 11:54 AM Page 32
