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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 131 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40376-40380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing 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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Sale
                 Lease sale, OCS planning area                     year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 40378]]

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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: July 3. 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P

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[FR Doc. 2012-16733 Filed 7-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-C
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