[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 131 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40376-40380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16733]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sales in the Central
Gulf of Mexico Planning Area (CPA) and the Western Gulf of Mexico
Planning Area (WPA), Beginning With WPA Sale 233 in 2013 and Subsequent
Sales Through 2017
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Call for Information and Nominations.
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SUMMARY: This Call for Information and Nominations (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Call'') is the initial step in the pre-lease
process. The purpose of the Call is to gather information on oil and
gas leasing, exploration, and development that might result from Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales, tentatively beginning
in the fall of 2013 under the OCS oil and gas leasing
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program for 2012-2017. Information collected through this process will
help BOEM design future sales. BOEM is enhancing the pre-lease planning
process, which begins with this Call, by undertaking a series of
important steps to increase the transparency of the process and
accountability.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than August 8, 2012 at the
address specified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on this Call, please
contact Mr. Carrol Williams, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of
Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana
70123-2394, telephone (504) 736-2803.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 15, 2011, BOEM published a Call to
gather information on a series of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease
sales scheduled in the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017
(76 FR 14040). The March 2011 Call identified the area under
consideration as the majority of the acreage in the CPA and WPA, but
that Call specifically excluded acreage in a 1.4 nautical mile (nmi)
buffer area in the area formerly known as the Western Gap, north of the
continental shelf boundary. This 1.4 nmi buffer area includes acreage
in the CPA and WPA along the continental shelf boundary between the
United States and Mexico. By treaty with Mexico, this 1.4 nmi buffer
area is not available for leasing until 2014.
On February 20, 2012, however, the United States and Mexico signed
an Agreement between the United States of America and the United
Mexican States Concerning Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the
Gulf of Mexico (hereinafter referred to as the ``Agreement''). Upon the
Agreement's entry into force, the 1.4 nmi buffer area may be available
for lease earlier than 2014. As such, this Call is being issued to
encompass the acreage identified in the March 2011 Call, as well as
approximately 158,584 acres in the portion of the CPA and WPA that may
be made available by the Agreement if it enters into force prior to
2014. If this area becomes available for lease, it will be announced in
a Notice of Sale.
Call for Information and Nominations
1. Authority
This Call is published pursuant to the OCS Lands Act as amended (43
U.S.C. 1331-1356, hereinafter ``OCSLA''), and the regulations issued
thereunder (30 CFR part 556).
2. Purpose of Call
The purpose of the Call is to gather information for the following
tentatively scheduled OCS Lease Sales in the CPA and WPA.
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Sale
Lease sale, OCS planning area year
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Sale 233, WPA.................................................. 2013
Sale 231, CPA.................................................. 2014
Sale 238, WPA.................................................. 2014
Sale 235, CPA.................................................. 2015
Sale 246, WPA.................................................. 2015
Sale 241, CPA.................................................. 2016
Sale 248, WPA.................................................. 2016
Sale 247, CPA.................................................. 2017
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BOEM seeks information and nominations on oil and gas leasing,
exploration, development, and production within this portion of the CPA
and WPA from all interested parties. This early planning and
consultation step is important for ensuring that all interests and
concerns are communicated to the U.S. Department of the Interior for
future decisions in the leasing process pursuant to OCSLA and
regulations at 30 CFR part 556.
Final decisions regarding this additional acreage for possible
leasing will be made at a later date and in compliance with applicable
laws, including all requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and OCSLA.
3. Description of Area
A Call for the majority of the acreage in the CPA and WPA was
issued on March 15, 2011. This Call encompasses that acreage, as well
as approximately 158,584 acres in the portion of the CPA and WPA that
may be made available by the Agreement, described above, if it enters
into force. A map of the full Call area is included below, depicting
the acres of the CPA and WPA that may be made available by the
Agreement. The map is available without charge from: Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, Public Information Office, 1201 Elmwood Park
Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, or telephone: 1-800-200-
GULF. It is also available via the BOEM Web site at: http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/Regional-Leasing/Gulf-of-Mexico-Region/Call-for-Info-and-Nominations-CPA-WPA-bufferarea.aspx.
The CPA/WPA areas are depicted in full on the map available at http://www.boem.gov/uploadedfiles/callmap-2012-2017.pdf.
4. Instructions on Call
Comments must be received no later than 30 days following
publication of this document in the Federal Register in envelopes
labeled ``Comments on the Call for Information and Nominations for
Proposed CPA and WPA Lease Sales,'' submitted to the Gulf of Mexico
Region's Leasing and Financial Responsibility Unit (Attention: Mr.
Carrol Williams) at the previously noted address.
The Call map delineates the Call area, all of which has been
identified by BOEM as having potential for the discovery of
accumulations of oil and gas.
BOEM seeks comments from all interested parties about particular
geological, environmental (including natural disasters), biological,
archaeological and socioeconomic conditions or conflicts, or other
information that might bear upon the potential leasing and development
of this area. BOEM also seeks comments on possible conflicts between
future OCS oil and gas activities that may result from the proposed
lease sale and state Coastal Management Programs (CMPs). If possible,
these comments should identify specific CMP policies of concern, the
nature of the conflict foreseen, and steps that BOEM could take to
avoid or mitigate the potential conflict. Comments may be in terms of
broad areas or restricted to particular blocks of concern.
In the Proposed Final OCS Oil & Gas Leasing Program 2012-2017, BOEM
established an alternative and mitigation tracking table (the Table),
which is designed to track the lineage and treatment of suggestions for
inclusion of acreage, spatial exclusions, temporal deferrals, and/or
mitigation from the Five-Year Program to the lease sale stage and on to
the plan stage. This alternative and mitigation tracking table will
allow commenters to see how and where their concerns are considered,
while ensuring that a reasonable concern that is not suitable for
consideration during one stage will be considered at an appropriate
subsequent stage. You can view the alternative and mitigation tracking
table at: http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/Five-Year-Program/Lease-Sale-Schedule/Alternative-and-Mitigation-Tracking-Table.aspx. Suggestions for deferrals collected during the comment
period on this Call will be added to the Table to be tracked through
the process.
Additionally, BOEM has created an interactive map through the
Multipurpose Marine Cadastre (MMC) Web site for the Gulf of Mexico. You
can
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view the interactive map at: http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/Five-Year-Program/Lease-Sale-Schedule/Interactive-Maps.aspx. The MMC is an integrated marine information system that
provides a more comprehensive look at geospatial data and ongoing
activities and studies occurring in the area being considered. If there
is a data layer that you believe should be added for consideration,
please provide this information by following the commenting
instructions above. If you have questions about the interactive map,
please contact Donna Dixon, Leasing Division Chief, at (703) 787-1215.
5. Use of Information From the Call
Information submitted in response to this Call will be used for
several purposes. First, comments on possible environmental effects and
potential use conflicts will be used in the analysis of environmental
conditions in and near the Call area. Comments on environmental and
other use conflicts will be used to make a preliminary determination of
the potential advantages and disadvantages of oil and gas exploration
and development to the region and the Nation. Second, comments may be
used in developing lease terms and conditions to ensure environmentally
safe offshore operations. Third, comments may be used to assess
potential conflicts between offshore oil and gas activities and a state
CMP.
Individual indications of interest in areas for mineral leasing are
considered to be privileged and proprietary information. To avoid
inadvertent release of proprietary information, please mark all
documents and every page containing such information with
``Confidential--Contains Proprietary Information.'' The names of
persons or entities submitting comments or indicating interest will be
treated by BOEM as information that can be released to the public. When
comments are released, individual indications of interest in mineral
leasing, trade secrets, commercial or financial information will be
treated as confidential and proprietary information that is privileged
and not released to the public.
6. Existing Information
BOEM routinely assesses the status of information acquisition
efforts and the quality of the information base for potential decisions
on a tentatively scheduled lease sale. An extensive environmental
studies program has been underway in the Gulf of Mexico since 1973. The
emphasis, including continuing studies, has been on ``environmental
analysis'' of biologically sensitive habitats, physical oceanography,
ocean-circulation modeling, ecological effects of oil and gas
activities, and hurricane impacts on coastal communities and the
environment.
You may obtain a complete listing of available study reports and
information for ordering copies from the Public Information Office
referenced above. You may also order the reports for a fee from the
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service,
5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, or telephone (703)
605-6000 or (800) 553-6847. In addition, you may obtain a program
status report for continuing studies in this area from the Chief,
Office of Environmental Studies (MS 5430), Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New
Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, or telephone (504) 736-2752, or via the
BOEM Web site at: http://www.boem.gov/Environmental-Stewardship/Environmental-Studies/Gulf-of-Mexico-Region/GOMR-Environmental-Studies-Program.aspx.
7. Tentative Schedule
Milestones for Proposed Lease Sale 233 in 2013
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Call for Information and July 2012.
Nominations.
Comments received on Call.... August 2012.
Area Identification Decision. September 2012.
Proposed Notice.............. 5 months before lease sale.
Final Notice of Sale......... 1 month before lease sale.
Tentative Lease Sale Date.... Fall 2013 (Lease Sale 233).
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Dated: July 3. 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
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[FR Doc. 2012-16733 Filed 7-6-12; 8:45 am]
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