# Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area (CPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 235 (CPA Sale 235)

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A2015-02273

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Notice
- **Published:** February 6, 2015
- **Citation:** 80 FR 6758

## Text

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[ MMAA104000]
Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area (CPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 235 (CPA Sale 235)

AGENCY:

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION:

Final notice of sale.

SUMMARY:

On Wednesday, March 18, 2015, BOEM will open and publicly announce bids for blocks offered in CPA Sale 235 in accordance with the provisions of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA, 43 U.S.C. 1331-1356, as amended) and the implementing regulations issued pursuant thereto (30 CFR parts 550 and 556).

The CPA 235 Final Notice of Sale (NOS) Package (Final NOS Package) contains information essential to potential bidders; bidders are charged with knowing the contents of the documents contained in the Final NOS Package. The Final NOS Package is available at the address and Web site below.

DATES:

Public bid reading for CPA Sale 235 will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, 1500 Sugarbowl Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112. The lease sale will be held in the St. Charles Club Room on the second floor (Loge Level). Entry to the Superdome will be on the Poydras Street side of the building through Gate A on the Ground Level; parking will be available at Garage 6. All times referred to in this document are local times in New Orleans, unless otherwise specified.

Bid Submission Deadline:
BOEM must receive all sealed bids between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on normal working days, or from 8:00 a.m. to the Bid Submission Deadline of 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, the day before the lease sale. For more information on bid submission, see Section VII, “Bidding Instructions,” of this document.

ADDRESS:

Interested parties, upon request, may obtain a compact disc (CD-ROM) containing the Final NOS Package by contacting the BOEM Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Region at the following address: Gulf of Mexico Region Public Information Office, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, (504) 736-2519 or (800) 200-GULF, or by visiting the BOEM Web site at
http://www.boem.gov/Sale-235/.

Table of Contents

This Final NOS includes the following sections:

I. Lease Sale Area

II. Statutes And Regulations

III. Lease Terms And Economic Conditions

IV. Lease Stipulations

V. Information To Lessees

VI. Maps

VII. Bidding Instructions

VIII. Bidding Rules And Restrictions

IX. Forms

X. The Lease Sale

XI. Delay Of Sale

I. Lease Sale Area

Blocks Offered for Leasing

Note:

Due to the expiration of a treaty prohibition on exploration and development within 1.4 nautical miles of the Continental Shelf Boundary (1.4-nautical mile buffer area) with Mexico, BOEM has decided to offer for lease in CPA Sale 235 all whole and partial blocks in the 1.4-nautical mile buffer area. The Agreement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico (Agreement) entered into force on July 18, 2014, and will apply to, among others, whole and partial blocks in the 1.4-nautical mile buffer area.

In CPA Sale 235, BOEM is offering for lease all blocks and partial blocks in the document “List of Blocks Available for Leasing” included in the Final NOS Package. All of these blocks are shown on the following leasing maps and Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs):

Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Maps—Louisiana Map Numbers 1 through 12

LA1 West Cameron Area (Revised July 1, 2011)

LA1A West Cameron Area, West Addition (Revised February 28, 2007)

LA1B West Cameron Area, South Addition (Revised February 28, 2007)

LA2 East Cameron Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA2A East Cameron Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA3 Vermilion Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA3A South Marsh Island Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA3B Vermilion Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA3C South Marsh Island Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA3D South Marsh Island Area, North Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA4 Eugene Island Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA4A Eugene Island Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA5 Ship Shoal Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA5A Ship Shoal Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA6 South Timbalier Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA6A South Timbalier Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA6B South Pelto Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA6C Bay Marchand Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA7 Grand Isle Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA7A Grand Isle Area, South Addition (Revised February 17, 2004)

LA8 West Delta Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA8A West Delta Area, South Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA9 South Pass Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA9A South Pass Area, South and East Additions (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA10 Main Pass Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA10A Main Pass Area, South and East Additions (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA10B Breton Sound Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA11 Chandeleur Area (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA11A Chandeleur Area, East Addition (Revised November 1, 2000)

LA12 Sabine Pass Area (Revised July 1, 2011)

Outer Continental Shelf Official Protraction Diagrams

NG15-02 Garden Banks (Revised February 28, 2007)

NG15-03 Green Canyon (Revised November 1, 2000)

NG15-05 Keathley Canyon (Revised October 1, 2014)

NG15-06 Walker Ridge (Revised November 1, 2000)

NG15-08 Sigsbee Escarpment (Revised October 1, 2014)

NG15-09 Amery Terrace (Revised October 1, 2014)

NG16-01 Atwater Valley (Revised November 1, 2000)

NG16-02 Lloyd Ridge (Revised August 1, 2008)

NG16-04 Lund (Revised November 1, 2000)

NG16-05 Henderson (Revised August 1, 2008)

NG16-07 Lund South (Revised October 1, 2014)

NG16-08 Florida Plain (Revised February 28, 2007)

NH15-12 Ewing Bank (Revised November 1, 2000)

NH16-04 Mobile (Revised July 1, 2011)

NH16-05 Pensacola (Revised February 28, 2007)

NH16-07 Viosca Knoll (Revised November 1, 2000)

NH16-08 Destin Dome (Revised February 28, 2007)

NH16-10 Mississippi Canyon (Revised November 1, 2000)

NH16-11 De Soto Canyon (Revised August 1, 2008)

Please Note:

A CD-ROM (in ArcInfo and Acrobat (.pdf) format) containing all of the GOM leasing maps and OPDs, is available from the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region Public Information Office for a price of $15.00. These GOM leasing maps and OPDs also are available for free online in .pdf and .gra formats at
http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Mapping-and-Data/Official-Protraction-Diagrams.aspx.

For the current status of all CPA leasing maps and OPDs, please refer to 66 FR 28002 (May 21, 2001), 69 FR 23211 (April 28, 2004), 72 FR 27590 (May 16, 2007), 72 FR 35720 (June 29, 2007), 73 FR 63505 (October 24, 2008), 76 FR 54787 (September 2, 2011), 79 FR 32572 (June 5, 2014), and 80 FR 3251 (January 22, 2015). In addition, Supplemental Official OCS Block Diagrams (SOBDs) for blocks containing the U.S. 200-Nautical Mile Limit line and the U.S.-Mexico Maritime and Continental Shelf Boundary line are available. These SOBDs also are available from the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region Public Information Office and on BOEM's Web site at
http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Mapping-and-Data/Supplemental-Official-OCS-Block-Diagrams-SOBDs.aspx.
For additional information, or to order the above referenced maps or diagrams, please call the Mapping and Automation Section at (504) 736-5768.

All blocks being offered in the lease sale are shown on these leasing maps and OPDs. The available Federal acreage of all whole and partial blocks in this lease sale is shown in the document “List of Blocks Available for Leasing” included in the Final NOS Package. Some of these blocks may be partially leased or deferred, or transected by administrative lines such as the Federal/State jurisdictional line. A bid on a block must include all of the available Federal acreage of that block. Also, information on the unleased portions of such blocks is found in the document entitled “Central Planning Area, Lease Sale 235, March 18, 2015—Unleased Split Blocks and Available Unleased Acreage of Blocks with Aliquots and Irregular Portions under Lease or Deferred,” which is included in the Final NOS Package.

For additional information, please call Mr. Lenny Coats, Chief of the Mapping and Automation Section, at (504) 736-1457.

Blocks Not Offered for Leasing:
The following whole and partial blocks are not offered for lease in this sale:

Whole and partial blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, Public Law. 109-432:

Pensacola (OPD NH 16-05)

Whole Blocks: 751 through 754, 793 through 798, 837 through 842, 881 through 886, 925 through 930, and 969 through 975

Destin Dome (OPD NH 16-08)

Whole Blocks: 1 through 7, 45 through 51, 89 through 96, 133 through 140, 177 through 184, 221 through 228, 265 through 273, 309 through 317, 353 through 361, 397 through 405, 441 through 450, 485 through 494, 529 through 538, 573 through 582, 617 through 627, 661 through 671, 705 through 715, 749 through 759, 793 through 804, 837 through 848, 881 through 892, 925 through 936, and 969 through 981

De Soto Canyon (OPD NH 16-11)

Whole Blocks: 1 through 15, 45 through 59, and 92 through 102

Partial Blocks: 16, 60, 61, 89 through 91, 103 through 105, and 135 through 147

Henderson (OPD NG 16-05)

Partial Blocks: 114, 158, 202, 246, 290, 334, 335, 378, 379, 422, and 423

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:

Lund South (OPD NG 16-07)

Whole Blocks: 128, 129, 169 through 173, 208 through 217, 248 through 261, 293 through 305, and 349

Henderson (OPD NG 16-05)

Whole Blocks: 466, 508 through 510, 551 through 554, 594 through 599, 637 through 643, 679 through 687, 722 through 731, 764 through 775, 807 through 819, 849 through 862, 891 through 905, 933 through 949, and 975 through 992

Partial Blocks: 467, 511, 555, 556, 600, 644, 688, 732, 776, 777, 820, 821, 863, 864, 906, 907, 950, 993, and 994

Florida Plain (OPD NG 16-08)

Whole Blocks: 5 through 24, 46 through 67, 89 through 110, 133 through 154, 177 through 197, 221 through 240, 265 through 283, 309 through 327, and 363 through 370

The following block whose lease status is currently under appeal:

West Cameron (Leasing Map LA1)
Block 171

II. Statutes and Regulations

Each lease is issued pursuant to OCSLA, and is subject to OCSLA, implementing regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, and other applicable statutes and regulations in existence upon the effective date of the lease, as well as those applicable statutes enacted and regulations promulgated thereafter, except to the extent that the after-enacted statutes and regulations explicitly conflict with an express provision of the lease. Each lease also is subject to amendments to statutes and regulations, including, but not limited to, OCSLA, that do not explicitly conflict with an express provision of the lease. The lessee expressly bears the risk that such new or amended statutes and regulations (
i.e.,
those that do not explicitly conflict with an express provision of the lease) may increase or decrease the lessee's obligations under the lease.

III. Lease Terms And Economic Conditions

Lease Terms

OCS Lease Form

BOEM will use Form BOEM-2005 (October 2011) to convey leases resulting from this sale. This lease form may be viewed on the BOEM Web site at
http://www.boem.gov/About-BOEM/Procurement-Business-Opportunities/BOEM-OCS-Operation-Forms/BOEM-2005.aspx.
The lease form will be amended to conform with the specific terms, conditions, and stipulations applicable to the individual lease. The terms, conditions, and stipulations applicable to this sale are set forth below.

Initial Periods

Initial periods are summarized in the following table:

Water depth
(meters)

Initial period

0 to Evaluation of Block .”

In the event a person supplies any type of data to BOEM, that person must meet the following requirements to qualify for reimbursement:

(1) Persons must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM), formerly known as the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). CCR usernames will not work in SAM. A new SAM User Account is needed to register or update an entity's records. The Web site for registering is
https://www.sam.gov.

(2) Persons must be enrolled in the Department of Treasury's Internet Payment Platform (IPP) for electronic invoicing. The person must enroll in the IPP at
https://www.ipp.gov/.
Access then will be granted to use the IPP for submitting requests for payment. When a request for payment is submitted, it must include the assigned Purchase Order Number on the request.

(3) Persons must have a current On-line Representations and Certifications Application at
https://www.sam.gov.

Please Note:

The GDIS Information Table must be submitted digitally, preferably as an Excel spreadsheet, on a CD or DVD along with the seismic data map(s). If bidders have any questions, they should contact Ms. Dee Smith at (504) 736-2706, or Mr. John Johnson at (504) 736-2455. Bidders should refer to Section X of this document, “The Lease Sale: Acceptance, Rejection, or Return of Bids,” regarding a bidder's failure to comply with the requirements of the Final NOS, including any failure to submit information as required in the Final NOS or Final NOS Package.

Telephone Numbers/Addresses of Bidders

BOEM requests that bidders provide this information in the suggested format prior to or at the time of bid submission. The suggested format is included in the Final NOS Package. The form must not be enclosed inside the sealed bid envelope.

Additional Documentation

BOEM may require bidders to submit other documents in accordance with 30 CFR 556.46.

VIII. Bidding Rules and Restrictions

Restricted Joint Bidders

On October 29, 2014, BOEM published the most recent List of Restricted Joint Bidders in the
Federal Register
at 79 FR 64404. Potential bidders are advised to refer to the
Federal Register,
prior to bidding, for the most current List of Restricted Joint Bidders in place at the time of the lease sale. Please refer to joint bidding provisions at 30 CFR 556.41 for additional restrictions.

Authorized Signatures

All signatories executing documents on behalf of bidder(s) must execute the same in conformance with the BOEM qualification records. Bidders are advised that BOEM considers the signed bid to be a legally binding obligation on the part of the bidder(s) to comply with all applicable regulations, including payment of one-fifth of the bonus bid on all high bids. A statement to this effect must be included on each bid form (see the document “Bid Form” to be contained in the Final NOS Package).

Unlawful Combination or Intimidation

BOEM warns bidders against violation of 18 U.S.C. 1860, prohibiting unlawful combination or intimidation of bidders.

Bid Withdrawal

Bids may be withdrawn only by written request delivered to BOEM prior to the Bid Submission Deadline. The withdrawal request must be on company letterhead and must contain the bidder's name, its BOEM qualification number, the map name/number, and the block number(s) of the bid(s) to be withdrawn. The withdrawal request must be executed in conformance with the BOEM qualification records. Signatories must be authorized to bind their respective legal business entities (
e.g.,
a corporation, partnership, or LLC) and documentation must be on file with BOEM setting forth this authority to act on the business entity's behalf for purposes of bidding and lease execution under OCSLA (
e.g.,
business charter or articles, incumbency certificate, or power of attorney). The name and title of the authorized signatory must be typed under the signature block on the withdrawal request. The BOEM Gulf of Mexico RD, or the RD's designee, will indicate any approval by signing and dating the withdrawal request.

Bid Rounding

The bonus bid amount must be stated in whole dollars. Minimum bonus bid calculations, including all rounding, for all blocks are shown in the document entitled “List of Blocks Available for Leasing,” which is included in the Final NOS Package. If the acreage of a block contains a decimal figure, then prior to calculating the minimum bonus bid, BOEM has rounded up to the next whole acre. The appropriate minimum rate per acre then was applied to the whole (rounded up) acreage. If this calculation resulted in a fractional dollar amount, the minimum bonus bid was rounded up to the next whole dollar amount. The bonus bid amount must be greater than or equal to the minimum bonus bid in whole dollars.

IX. Forms

The Final NOS Package includes instructions, samples, and/or the preferred format for the following items. BOEM strongly encourages bidders to use these formats; should bidders use another format, they are responsible for including all the information specified for each item in the Final NOS Package.

(1) Bid Form

(2) Sample Completed Bid

(3) Sample Bid Envelope

(4) Sample Bid Mailing Envelope

(5) Telephone Numbers/Addresses of Bidders Form

(6) GDIS Form

(7) GDIS Envelope Form

X. The Lease Sale

Bid Opening and Reading

Sealed bids received in response to the Final NOS will be opened at the place, date, and hour specified in the “DATES” section of this document. The opening of the bids is for the sole purpose of publicly announcing and recording the bids received; no bids will be accepted or rejected at that time.

Bonus Bid Deposit for Apparent High Bids

Each bidder submitting an apparent high bid must submit a bonus bid deposit to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) equal to one-fifth of the bonus bid amount for each such bid. A copy of the notification

of the high bidder's one-fifth bonus bid requirement deposit may be obtained at the EFT Area outside the Bid Reading Room on the day of the bid opening, or it may be obtained on the BOEM Web site at
http://www.boem.gov/Sale-235/
under the heading “Notification of EFT 1/5 Bonus Liability.” All payments must be deposited electronically into an interest-bearing account in the U.S. Treasury by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day following the bid reading (no exceptions). Account information is provided in the “Instructions for Making Electronic Funds Transfer Bonus Payments” found on the BOEM Web site identified above. BOEM requires bidders to use EFT procedures for payment of one-fifth bonus bid deposits for CPA Sale 235, following the detailed instructions contained on the ONRR Payment Information Web page at
http://www.onrr.gov/FM/PayInfo.htm.
Acceptance of a deposit does not constitute and shall 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.

Acceptance, Rejection, or Return of Bids

The United States reserves the right to reject any and all bids. 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 requirements of the Final NOS, including those set forth in the documents contained in the Final NOS Package and applicable regulations; (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 statute or regulation may 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 antitrust issues prior to the acceptance of bids and issuance of leases.

To ensure that the Government receives a fair return for the conveyance of leases from this sale, high bids will be evaluated in accordance with BOEM's bid adequacy procedures. A copy of current procedures, “Modifications to the Bid Adequacy Procedures,” published at 64 FR 37560 on July 12, 1999, can be obtained from the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region Public Information Office, or via the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region Web site at
http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/Regional-Leasing/Gulf-of-Mexico-Region/Bid-Adequacy-Procedures.aspx.

Bid Adequacy Review Procedures for CPA Sale 235

BOEM published a notification in the
Federal Register,
Volume 79, No. 201, October 17, 2014, 62461-62463, at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-10-17/pdf/2014-24727.pdf,
proposing the elimination of one of its acceptance rules, the Number of Bids Rule, from its bid adequacy procedures. However, BOEM has decided not to eliminate the rule for CPA Sale 235 and will continue using the existing bid adequacy procedures, referenced above. If the proposed change in the bid adequacy procedures is finalized and applicable to future lease sales, bidders will be notified in the Final NOS, and BOEM will publish the revised procedures no later than the time the Final NOS for that sale is published.

Lease Award

BOEM requires each bidder awarded a lease to: (1) Execute all copies of the lease (Form BOEM-2005 (October 2011), 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 218.155 and 556.47(f); and (3) satisfy the bonding requirements of 30 CFR part 556, subpart I, as amended. ONRR requests that only one transaction be used for payment of the four-fifths bonus bid amount and the first year's rental.

XI. Delay of Sale

The BOEM Gulf of Mexico RD has the discretion to change any date, time, and/or location specified in the Final NOS Package in case of an event that the BOEM Gulf of Mexico RD deems may interfere with the carrying out of a fair and orderly lease sale process. Such events could include, but are not limited to, natural disasters (
e.g.,
earthquakes, hurricanes, and 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 Web site at
www.boem.gov,
for information regarding any changes.

Dated: January 22, 2015.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

[FR Doc. 2015-02273 Filed 2-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A2015-02273. Public record. Not legal advice.