President Obama to announce new Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale today
NEWS & MEDIA GULF OF MEXICO NEWS
NEW ORLEANS – Jan 25, 2012 - President Barack Obama will announce today a new oil and gas lease sale in the central Gulf of Mexico to be held in New Orleans on June 20. The lease sale, which will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area off of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, will make about 38 million acres available, and could result in the production of 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to Interior Department estimates.
The announcement will come as part of a day of events in Nevada and Colorado in which the president will put some flesh on the bones of the administration “Blueprint for An America Built to Last,” committed to an “all-of-the-above” approach to developing all available sources of American energy.
In his State of the Union, the president directed the Department of Interior to finalize a national offshore energy plan to make three quarters of potential offshore resources available for development by opening new areas for drilling in the Gulf and Alaska.
“Expanding offshore oil and gas production is a key component of our comprehensive energy strategy to grow America’s energy economy, and will help us continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create jobs here at home,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
“The President has made it clear that developing our domestic oil and gas resources is a significant part of this administration’s efforts to grow our economy and create jobs. This lease sale is part of our commitment to safe and responsible development of the Outer Continental Shelf.”