Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259, 12413-12414 [2023-03972]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2023 / Notices
BOEM requires bidders to use EFT
procedures for payment of one-fifth
bonus bid deposits for GOM Lease Sale
259, following the detailed instructions
contained on the ONRR Payment
Information web page at https://
www.onrr.gov/ReportPay/
payments.htm. Acceptance of a deposit
does not constitute, and will not be
construed as, acceptance of any bid on
behalf of the United States.
Withdrawal of Blocks
The United States reserves the right to
withdraw any block from this lease sale
prior to issuance of a written acceptance
of a bid for the block.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES
Acceptance, Rejection, or Return of Bids
The United States reserves the right to
reject any and all bids, regardless of the
amount offered. Furthermore, no bid
will be accepted, and no lease for any
block will be awarded to any bidder,
unless:
(1) The bidder has complied with all
applicable regulations and requirements
of the Final NOS, including those set
forth in the documents contained in the
Final NOS package;
(2) The bid is the highest valid bid;
and
(3) The amount of the bid has been
determined to be adequate by the
authorized officer.
Any bid submitted that does not
conform to the requirements of the Final
NOS and Final NOS package, OCSLA,
or other applicable statutes or
regulations will be rejected and returned
to the bidder. The U.S. Department of
Justice and the Federal Trade
Commission will review the results of
the lease sale for any antitrust issues
prior to the acceptance of bids and
issuance of leases.
Bid Adequacy Review Procedures for
GOM Lease Sale 259
To ensure that the U.S. Government
receives fair market value for the
conveyance of leases from this sale,
BOEM will evaluate high bids in
accordance with the bid adequacy
procedures that are effective on the date
of the sale. The bid adequacy
procedures are available on BOEM’s
website at https://www.boem.gov/Oiland-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/
Regional-Leasing/Gulf-of-MexicoRegion/Bid-Adequacy-Procedures.aspx.
Lease Award
Leases issued as a result of GOM
Lease Sale 259 are expressly limited to
oil and gas exploration and
development. As noted in section 19 of
the lease form, all rights in the leased
area not expressly granted to the Lessee
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:06 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 259001
by the Act, the regulations, or this lease
are hereby reserved to the Lessor.
BOEM requires each bidder that is
awarded a lease to complete the
following:
(1) Execute all copies of the lease
(Form BOEM–2005 [February 2017], as
amended);
(2) Pay by EFT the balance of the
bonus bid amount and the first year’s
rental for each lease issued in
accordance with the requirements of 30
CFR 1218.155 and 556.520(a); and
(3) Satisfy the bonding requirements
of 30 CFR part 556, subpart I, as
amended. ONRR requests that bidders
use only one transaction for payment of
the balance of the bonus bid amount
and the first year’s rental. Once ONRR
receives such payment, the bidder
awarded the lease may not request a
refund of the balance of the bonus bid
amount or first year’s rental payment.
XI. Delay of Sale
The BOEM GOM RD has the
discretion to change any date, time,
and/or location specified in the Final
NOS package in the case of an event that
the BOEM GOM RD deems could
interfere with a fair and orderly lease
sale process. Such events could include,
but are not limited to, natural disasters
(e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, floods),
wars, riots, acts of terrorism, fires,
strikes, civil disorder, or other events of
a similar nature. In case of such events,
bidders should call (504) 736–0557, or
access the BOEM website at https://
www.boem.gov, for information
regarding any changes.
Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023–03973 Filed 2–24–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340–98–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM–2023–0022]
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental
Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a
Record of Decision.
AGENCY:
BOEM announces the
availability of the Record of Decision
(ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas
Lease Sale 259 (GOM Lease Sale 259).
This ROD identifies the selected
alternative for GOM Lease Sale 259,
which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00107
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12413
OCS Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and
261 Supplemental EIS).
ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated
information are available on BOEM’s
website at https://www.boem.gov/GoMSales-259-and-261-SEIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Helen Rucker, Chief, Environmental
Assessment Section, Office of
Environment, by telephone at 504–736–
2421, or by email at helen.rucker@
boem.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM is
required to hold GOM Lease Sale 259 on
or before March 31, 2023, pursuant to
the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
(IRA, Pub. L. 117–169), signed into law
on August 16, 2022. While Section
50264(d) of the IRA requires BOEM to
hold GOM Lease Sale 259, the IRA does
not disturb the bulk of BOEM’s normal
leasing process, including the resolution
of particular questions regarding the
scope of the lease sale and the terms of
the resulting leases. GOM Lease Sale
259 will provide qualified bidders the
opportunity to bid on unleased blocks
in the Gulf of Mexico OCS in order to
explore for, develop, and produce oil
and natural gas. BOEM evaluated five
alternatives in the GOM Lease Sales 259
and 261 Supplemental EIS. While
BOEM has no discretion in whether to
hold GOM Lease Sale 259, BOEM issued
the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261
Supplemental EIS in accordance with
its normal leasing process to the fullest
extent practicable, and to inform the
decisionmaker on impacts from a
representative lease sale, mitigations,
and other action alternatives.
After careful consideration, the
Department of the Interior (DOI) has
selected a subset of the blocks analyzed
as Alternative D in the GOM Lease Sales
259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. That is,
to hold oil and gas Lease Sale 259 as a
GOM lease sale, with the exclusion of
whole and partial blocks that were
otherwise proposed to be subject to the
Topographic Features Stipulation, the
Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend)
Stipulation, and the Blocks South of
Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation.
Additional blocks have also been
excluded to help reduce identified
space-use conflicts or competing
interests in the Gulf of Mexico while
BOEM studies whether these areas are
compatible for use by more than one
infrastructure type.
Therefore, as selected by DOI, Lease
Sale 259 is a GOM regionwide lease sale
encompassing all three planning areas,
i.e., the Western Planning Area, Central
Planning Area, and a small portion of
E:\FR\FM\27FEN1.SGM
27FEN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES
12414
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2023 / Notices
the Eastern Planning Area, with the
following exclusions: (1) whole and
portions of blocks withdrawn from
leasing by Presidential withdrawal in
the September 8, 2020, Memorandum
on the Withdrawal of Certain Areas of
the United States Outer Continental
Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (2)
blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the
United States Exclusive Economic Zone
in the area known as the northern
portion of the Eastern Gap; (3) whole
and partial blocks within the boundary
of the Flower Garden Banks National
Marine Sanctuary as of the July 14,
2008, Memorandum on Modification of
the Withdrawal of Areas of the United
States Outer Continental Shelf from
Leasing Disposition; (4) whole and
partial blocks that would otherwise
have been subject to the Topographic
Features Stipulation; (5) whole and
partial blocks that would otherwise
have been subject to the Live Bottom
(Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation; (6) whole
and partial blocks that otherwise would
have been subject to the Blocks South of
Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation;
(7) draft and final identified Wind
Energy Areas; (8) designated Significant
Sediment Resource Area blocks; and (9)
Depth-restricted, segregated block
portions (Block 299, Main Pass Area,
South and East Addition). The excluded
blocks are identified by their block
number in the Final Notice of Sale for
Lease Sale 259. The lease sale area
encompasses approximately 13,600 OCS
blocks covering approximately 73.3
million acres. The unleased OCS blocks
that BOEM will offer for lease are listed
in the document entitled ‘‘Lease Sale
Area,’’ which is included in the Final
Notice of Sale package for GOM Lease
Sale 259.
As part of the decision to hold GOM
Lease Sale 259, all practicable means to
avoid or minimize environmental harm
at the lease sale stage are being adopted.
In addition, post-lease activities (e.g.,
exploration and development plans),
which may be expected as a result of
GOM Lease Sale 259, will undergo
additional environmental review and
may include additional project-specific
mitigation measures applied as
conditions of individual plan approvals.
The various mitigation measures
adopted for the lease sale, and those that
may be applied during post-lease
reviews, are summarized below.
Lease Stipulations—Because the OCS
blocks that otherwise were proposed to
be subject to the Topographic Features
Stipulation; Live Bottom (Pinnacle
Trend) Stipulation; and Blocks South of
Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation
have all been removed from leasing
under the chosen alternative, these
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:06 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 259001
stipulations will not be applied to
leases. Eight lease stipulations have
been adopted as lease terms where
applicable, and they will be enforceable
as part of the leases issued. The GOM
Lease Sale 259 and 261 Supplemental
EIS describes these lease stipulations,
which are included in the Final Notice
of Sale Package. These lease stipulations
include the following: Military Areas;
Evacuation; Coordination; Protected
Species; United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea Royalty Payment;
Agreement between the United States of
America and the United Mexican States
Concerning Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of
Mexico; Restrictions Due to Rights-ofUse and Easements for Floating
Production Facilities; and Royalties on
All Produced Gas.
Post-Lease Measures—Appendix B of
the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas
Lease Sales: 2017–2022; Gulf of Mexico
Lease Sales 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254,
256, 257, 259, and 261—Final Multisale
Environmental Impact Statement
provides a list and description of
standard post-lease conditions of
approval that BOEM or the Bureau of
Safety and Environmental Enforcement
may require as a result of their plan and
permit review processes for the Gulf of
Mexico OCS region.
The decision to hold GOM Lease Sale
259 meets the purpose of and need for
the proposed action, as identified in the
GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261
Supplemental EIS and provides for
orderly resource development with
protection of human, marine, and
coastal environments while also
ensuring that the public receives a fair
market value for these resources and
that free-market competition is
maintained.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
(National Environmental Policy Act)
and 40 CFR parts 1505 and 1506.
Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023–03972 Filed 2–24–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340–98–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[RR83550000, 234R5065C6,
RX.59389832.1009676]
Quarterly Status Report of Water
Service, Repayment, and Other WaterRelated Contract Actions
AGENCY:
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
PO 00000
Frm 00108
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
ACTION:
Notice of contract actions.
Notice is hereby given of
contractual actions that have been
proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) and are new,
discontinued, or completed since the
last publication of this notice. This
notice is one of a variety of means used
to inform the public about proposed
contractual actions for capital recovery
and management of project resources
and facilities consistent with section 9(f)
of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939.
Additional announcements of
individual contract actions may be
published in the Federal Register and in
newspapers of general circulation in the
areas determined by Reclamation to be
affected by the proposed action.
ADDRESSES: The identity of the
approving officer and other information
pertaining to a specific contract
proposal may be obtained by calling or
writing the appropriate regional office at
the address and telephone number given
for each region in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Kelly, Reclamation Law
Administration Division, Bureau of
Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver,
Colorado 80225–0007; mkelly@usbr.gov;
telephone 303–445–2888.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consistent
with section 9(f) of the Reclamation
Project Act of 1939, and the rules and
regulations published in 52 FR 11954,
April 13, 1987 (43 CFR 426.22),
Reclamation will publish notice of
proposed or amendatory contract
actions for any contract for the delivery
of project water for authorized uses in
newspapers of general circulation in the
affected area at least 60 days prior to
contract execution. Announcements
may be in the form of news releases,
legal notices, official letters,
memorandums, or other forms of
written material. Meetings, workshops,
and/or hearings may also be used, as
appropriate, to provide local publicity.
The public participation procedures do
not apply to proposed contracts for the
sale of surplus or interim irrigation
water for a term of 1 year or less. Either
of the contracting parties may invite the
public to observe contract proceedings.
All public participation procedures will
be coordinated with those involved in
complying with the National
Environmental Policy Act. Pursuant to
the ‘‘Final Revised Public Participation
Procedures’’ for water resource-related
contract negotiations, published in 47
FR 7763, February 22, 1982, a tabulation
is provided of all proposed contractual
actions in each of the five Reclamation
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\27FEN1.SGM
27FEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12413-12414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03972]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0022]
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale
259
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the Record of Decision
(ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and
Gas Lease Sale 259 (GOM Lease Sale 259). This ROD identifies the
selected alternative for GOM Lease Sale 259, which is analyzed in the
Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261
Supplemental EIS).
ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated information are available on BOEM's
website at https://www.boem.gov/GoM-Sales-259-and-261-SEIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Helen Rucker, Chief, Environmental
Assessment Section, Office of Environment, by telephone at 504-736-
2421, or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM is required to hold GOM Lease Sale 259
on or before March 31, 2023, pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act of
2022 (IRA, Pub. L. 117-169), signed into law on August 16, 2022. While
Section 50264(d) of the IRA requires BOEM to hold GOM Lease Sale 259,
the IRA does not disturb the bulk of BOEM's normal leasing process,
including the resolution of particular questions regarding the scope of
the lease sale and the terms of the resulting leases. GOM Lease Sale
259 will provide qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on unleased
blocks in the Gulf of Mexico OCS in order to explore for, develop, and
produce oil and natural gas. BOEM evaluated five alternatives in the
GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. While BOEM has no
discretion in whether to hold GOM Lease Sale 259, BOEM issued the GOM
Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS in accordance with its normal
leasing process to the fullest extent practicable, and to inform the
decisionmaker on impacts from a representative lease sale, mitigations,
and other action alternatives.
After careful consideration, the Department of the Interior (DOI)
has selected a subset of the blocks analyzed as Alternative D in the
GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. That is, to hold oil and
gas Lease Sale 259 as a GOM lease sale, with the exclusion of whole and
partial blocks that were otherwise proposed to be subject to the
Topographic Features Stipulation, the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend)
Stipulation, and the Blocks South of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulation. Additional blocks have also been excluded to help reduce
identified space-use conflicts or competing interests in the Gulf of
Mexico while BOEM studies whether these areas are compatible for use by
more than one infrastructure type.
Therefore, as selected by DOI, Lease Sale 259 is a GOM regionwide
lease sale encompassing all three planning areas, i.e., the Western
Planning Area, Central Planning Area, and a small portion of
[[Page 12414]]
the Eastern Planning Area, with the following exclusions: (1) whole and
portions of blocks withdrawn from leasing by Presidential withdrawal in
the September 8, 2020, Memorandum on the Withdrawal of Certain Areas of
the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (2)
blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern
Gap; (3) whole and partial blocks within the boundary of the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as of the July 14, 2008,
Memorandum on Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the United
States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (4) whole and
partial blocks that would otherwise have been subject to the
Topographic Features Stipulation; (5) whole and partial blocks that
would otherwise have been subject to the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend)
Stipulation; (6) whole and partial blocks that otherwise would have
been subject to the Blocks South of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulation; (7) draft and final identified Wind Energy Areas; (8)
designated Significant Sediment Resource Area blocks; and (9) Depth-
restricted, segregated block portions (Block 299, Main Pass Area, South
and East Addition). The excluded blocks are identified by their block
number in the Final Notice of Sale for Lease Sale 259. The lease sale
area encompasses approximately 13,600 OCS blocks covering approximately
73.3 million acres. The unleased OCS blocks that BOEM will offer for
lease are listed in the document entitled ``Lease Sale Area,'' which is
included in the Final Notice of Sale package for GOM Lease Sale 259.
As part of the decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 259, all practicable
means to avoid or minimize environmental harm at the lease sale stage
are being adopted. In addition, post-lease activities (e.g.,
exploration and development plans), which may be expected as a result
of GOM Lease Sale 259, will undergo additional environmental review and
may include additional project-specific mitigation measures applied as
conditions of individual plan approvals. The various mitigation
measures adopted for the lease sale, and those that may be applied
during post-lease reviews, are summarized below.
Lease Stipulations--Because the OCS blocks that otherwise were
proposed to be subject to the Topographic Features Stipulation; Live
Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation; and Blocks South of Baldwin
County, Alabama, Stipulation have all been removed from leasing under
the chosen alternative, these stipulations will not be applied to
leases. Eight lease stipulations have been adopted as lease terms where
applicable, and they will be enforceable as part of the leases issued.
The GOM Lease Sale 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS describes these lease
stipulations, which are included in the Final Notice of Sale Package.
These lease stipulations include the following: Military Areas;
Evacuation; Coordination; Protected Species; United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea Royalty Payment; Agreement between the United
States of America and the United Mexican States Concerning
Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico;
Restrictions Due to Rights-of-Use and Easements for Floating Production
Facilities; and Royalties on All Produced Gas.
Post-Lease Measures--Appendix B of the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and
Gas Lease Sales: 2017-2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 249, 250, 251,
252, 253, 254, 256, 257, 259, and 261--Final Multisale Environmental
Impact Statement provides a list and description of standard post-lease
conditions of approval that BOEM or the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement may require as a result of their plan and
permit review processes for the Gulf of Mexico OCS region.
The decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 259 meets the purpose of and
need for the proposed action, as identified in the GOM Lease Sales 259
and 261 Supplemental EIS and provides for orderly resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments while also
ensuring that the public receives a fair market value for these
resources and that free-market competition is maintained.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (National Environmental Policy
Act) and 40 CFR parts 1505 and 1506.
Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-03972 Filed 2-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P