RECENT MMS LEASE SALE AUGUST 20, 2008 

Lease Sale 172
March 17, 1999

The Outer Continental Shelf Sale 172 was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 17, 1999. This is the same area that attracted extremely high industry interest in the previous three sales. Recent downward trends in world oil prices, along with the associated negative affects on the domestic industry, led the MMS to anticipate lower bidding levels, both in terms of the number of participants and dollars exposed, than in previous sales in the Central Gulf. Sale 172 covered 3,806 blocks, of which 2970 are in deep water (>200 m), where royalty relief is available. The total number of acres offered for bid was slightly over 20 million.

Sale 172, just completed, resulted in 272 bids on 207 tracts, for a total of $199.6 million. The total sum of apparent winning bids was $171.8 million, on slightly over one million acres.

The big players, in terms of number of tracts bid on, are:

·        Sonat Exploration GOM Inc. - 28 bids

·        Vastar Resources - 24 bids

·        Samedan Oil Corporation - 20 bids

·        Murphy Exploration & Production Company - 19 bids

·        Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation - 18 bids

In terms of total amount exposed, we have:

·        Elf Exploration, Inc. - $21 million

·        Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation - $17 million

·        Vastar Resources - $15 million

·        Union Oil Company of California - $12 million

·        Mariner Energy - $10 million

In terms of total amount of high bids, we have:

·        Elf Exploration, Inc. - $21 million

·        Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation - $17 million

·        Vastar Resources - $12 million

·        Union Oil Company of California - $11 million

·        Marathon Oil Company - $9.5 million