11524 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Outer Continental Shelf, Central Gulf of

Mexico, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 178,

Part 1

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Final Notice of Sale 178, Part 1.

This Final Notice of Sale 178, Part 1,

offers for lease all blocks in the Central

Gulf of Mexico except for blocks beyond

the United States Exclusive Economic

Zone in the area known as the Northern

Portion of the Western Gap and certain

other deferrals as specified below. A

separate offering in late August 2001 of

Central Gulf of Mexico blocks in the

Western Gap (in the Amery Terrace

Area (NG15–09)) is under consideration.

If it occurs, it will be known as Sale 178,

Part 2.

On March 28, 2001, the Minerals

Management Service (MMS) will open

and publicly announce bids received for

blocks offered in Sale 178, Part 1,

Central Gulf of Mexico, pursuant to the

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands

Act (43 U.S.C. 1331–1356, as amended)

and the regulations issued thereunder

(30 CFR Part 256). Bidders can obtain a

‘‘Final Notice of Sale 178, Part 1

Package’’ containing this Notice of Sale

and several supporting and essential

documents referenced herein, from the

MMS Gulf of Mexico Region’s Public

Information Unit, 1201 Elmwood Park

Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana

70123–2394, (504) 736–2519 or (800)

200–GULF, or via the MMS Gulf of

Mexico Region’s Internet site at http://

www.gomr.mms.gov. The MMS also

maintains a 24-hour Fax-on-Demand

Service at (202) 219–1703. The ‘‘Final

Notice of Sale 178, Part 1 Package’’

contains information essential to

bidders, and bidders are charged with

the knowledge of the documents

contained in the package.

Location and Time: Public bid reading

will begin at 9 a.m., Wednesday, March

28, 2001, in the Sheraton New Orleans

Hotel (Armstrong Ballroom, 8th floor),

500 Canal Street, New Orleans,

Louisiana. All times referred to in this

document are local New Orleans time.

Filing of Bids: Bidders must submit

sealed bids to the Regional Director

(RD), MMS Gulf of Mexico Region, 1201

Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans,

Louisiana 70123–2394, between 8 a.m.

and 4 p.m., prior to the Bid Submission

Deadline of 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 27,

2001. If the bids are mailed, mark on the

envelope containing all the sealed bids

the following: Attention: Mr. John Rodi,

Contains Sealed Bids for Sale 178, Part

1. If the RD receives bids later than the

time and date specified above, he will

return the bids unopened to bidders.

Bidders may not modify or withdraw

their bids unless the RD receives a

written modification or written

withdrawal request prior to 10 a.m.,

Tuesday, March 27, 2001. In the event

of widespread flooding or other natural

disaster, the MMS Gulf of Mexico

Regional Office may extend the bid

submission deadline. Bidders may call

(504) 736–0557 for information about

the possible extension of the bid

submission deadline due to such an

event.

Areas Offered for Leasing

The MMS is offering for leasing all

blocks and partial blocks listed in the

document ‘‘Blocks Available for Leasing

in Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas

Lease Sale 178, Part 1’’ included in the

Sale Notice Package. All of these blocks

are shown on the following Leasing

Maps and Official Protraction Diagrams

(which may be purchased from the

MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Office

Public Information Unit).

Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Maps—

Louisiana Nos. 1 through 12: (These 30

maps sell for $2.00 each)

LA1 West Cameron Area (revised 09/

01/99)

LA1A West Cameron Area, West

Addition (revised 05/30/97)

LA1B West Cameron Area, South

Addition (revised 05/30/97)

LA2 East Cameron Area (revised 09/

01/99)

LA2A East Cameron Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA3 Vermilion Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA3A South Marsh Island Area

(revised 09/01/99)

LA3B Vermilion Area, South Addition

(revised 09/01/99)

LA3C South Marsh Island Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA3D South Marsh Island Area, North

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA4 Eugene Island Area (revised 09/

01/99)

LA4A Eugene Island Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA5 Ship Shoal Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA5A Ship Shoal Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA6 South Timbalier Area (revised 09/

01/99)

LA6A South Timbalier Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA6B South Pelto Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA6C Bay Marchand Area (revised 12/

30/94)

LA7 Grand Isle Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA7A Grand Isle Area, South Addition

(revised 09/01/99)

LA8 West Delta Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA8A West Delta Area, South

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA9 South Pass Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA9A South Pass Area, South and East

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA10 Main Pass Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA10A Main Pass Area, South and

East Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA10B Breton Sound Area (revised 09/

01/99)

LA11 Chandeleur Area (revised 09/01/

99)

LA11A Chandeleur Area, East

Addition (revised 09/01/99)

LA12 Sabine Pass Area (revised 05/30/

97)

Outer Continental Shelf Official

Protraction Diagrams: (These diagrams

sell for $2.00 each)

NG15–03 Green Canyon (revised 09/

01/99)

NG15–06 Walker Ridge (revised 09/01/

99)

NG15–09 Amery Terrace (revised 10/

25/00)

NG16–01 Atwater Valley (revised 09/

01/99)

NG16–04 Lund (revised 09/01/99)

NG16–07 Lund South (revised 09/01/

99)

NH15–12 Ewing Bank (revised 09/01/

99)

NH16–04 Mobile (revised 09/01/99)

NH16–07 Viosca Knoll (revised 09/01/

99)

NH16–10 Mississippi Canyon (revised

05/01/96)

Note: A CD–ROM (in ARC/INFO format)

containing all of the Gulf of Mexico Leasing

Maps and Official Protraction Diagrams,

except for those not yet revised to digital

format, is available from the MMS Gulf of

Mexico Regional Office Public Information

Unit for a price of $15.00. Only Amery

Terrace (NG15–09) in the Central Gulf is not

available on the CD–ROM. The Leasing Maps

and Official Protraction Diagrams are also

available on our Internet site. See also 65 FR

2191, published on January 13, 2000, and 65

FR 67016, published on November 8, 2000,

for the current status of all Gulf of Mexico

Leasing Maps and Official Protraction

Diagrams.

All blocks are shown on these Leasing

Maps and Official Protraction Diagrams.

The available Federal acreage of all

whole and partial blocks in this sale is

shown in the document ‘‘List of Blocks

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2001 / Notices 11525

Available for Leasing, Sale 178, Part 1’’

included in the Sale Notice Package.

Some of these blocks may be partially

leased or transected by administrative

lines such as the Federal/State

jurisdictional line. Information on the

unleased portions of such blocks,

including the exact acreage, is found in

the document titled ‘‘Central Gulf of

Mexico Lease Sale 178, Part 1, Unleased

Split Blocks and Unleased Acreage of

Blocks with Aliquots and Irregular

Portions Under Lease,’’ included in the

Sale Notice Package.

Areas Not Available for Leasing

The following blocks in the Central

Gulf of Mexico Planning Area are not

available for leasing: Blocks currently

under lease; Mississippi Canyon Block

474, which is under consideration for

use as the host location to develop

several existing leases termed the

‘‘NaKika Project’; Viosca Knoll Block 69

(lease termination is currently under

appeal); and the following blocks which

are beyond the United States Exclusive

Economic Zone in the area known as the

Northern Portion of the Eastern Gap are

deferred from leasing in this sale by the

Department of the Interior: Lund South

(Area NG16–07) Blocks 172, 173, 213

through 217, 252 through 261, 296

through 305, 349; and the following

blocks which are beyond the United

States Exclusive Economic Zone in the

area known as the Northern Portion of

the Western Gap are deferred from

leasing in this sale by the Department of

the Interior but are under consideration

to be offered in a Sale 178, Part 2, in

August 2001: Amery Terrace (Area

NG15–09) Blocks 133 through 135, 177

through 184, 221 through 238, 265

through 281, 309 through 320, 355

through 359.

Leasing Terms and Conditions

Primary lease terms, primary lease

term extensions, minimum bids, annual

rental rates, royalty rates, and royalty

suspension areas are shown on the map

‘‘Lease Terms and Economic

Conditions, Sale 178, Part 1, Final’’ for

leases resulting from this sale:

Primary lease terms: 5 years for blocks

in water depths of less than 400 meters;

8 years for blocks in water depths of 400

to 799 meters; and 10 years for blocks

in water depths of 800 meters or deeper;

Primary lease term extensions:

Extensions may be granted for eligible

blocks in water depths less than 400

meters as specified in Notice To Lessees

and Operators (NTL) 2000–G22,

effective December 22, 2000;

Minimum bids: $25 per acre or

fraction thereof for blocks in water

depths of less than 800 meters and

$37.50 per acre or fraction thereof for

blocks in water depths of 800 meters or

deeper;

Annual rental rates: $5 per acre or

fraction thereof for blocks in water

depths of less than 200 meters and $7.50

per acre or fraction thereof for blocks in

water depths of 200 meters or deeper, to

be paid on or before the first day of each

lease year until a discovery in paying

quantities of oil or gas is made, then at

the expiration of each lease year until

the start of royalty-bearing production;

Royalty rates: 162⁄3 percent royalty

rate for blocks in water depths of less

than 400 meters and a 121⁄2 percent

royalty rate for blocks in water depths

of 400 meters or deeper, except during

periods of royalty suspension, to be paid

monthly on the last day of the month

next following the month in which the

production is obtained;

Minimum royalty: After the start of

royalty-bearing production: $5 per acre

or fraction thereof per year for blocks in

water depths of less than 200 meters

and $7.50 per acre or fraction thereof

per year for blocks in water depths of

200 meters or deeper, to be paid at the

expiration of each lease year;

Royalty Suspension Areas: We are

offering leases in this sale subject to the

new final regulations in 30 CFR Part

260, published in February 2001.

Royalty suspension will apply for

blocks in water depths less than 200

meters where new deep gas (15,000 feet

or greater subsea) is drilled and

commences production within the

initial primary 5-year lease term, and in

water depths of 800 meters or deeper

(for oil and gas); see the map titled

‘‘Lease Terms and Economic

Conditions, Sale 178, Part 1, Final’’ for

specific areas. See the document

contained within the Sale 178, Part 1,

Final Notice Package titled ‘‘Royalty

Suspension Provisions, Sale 178, Part 1’’

for the specific details regarding royalty

suspension eligibility and

implementation.

The map titled ‘‘Stipulations and

Deferred Blocks, Sale 178, Part 1, Final’’

depicts the blocks where four lease

stipulations apply: 1. Topographic

Features, 2. Live Bottoms, 3. Military

Areas, and 4. Blocks South of Baldwin

County, Alabama. The texts of the

stipulations are contained in the

document ‘‘Lease Stipulations for Oil

and Gas Lease Sale 178, Part 1, Final’’

included in the Final Sale Notice

Package. Also shown on this map are

the deferred blocks noted above.

Rounding: The following procedure

must be used to calculate minimum bid,

rental, and minimum royalty on blocks

with fractional acreage: Round up to the

next whole acre and multiply by the

applicable dollar amount to determine

the correct minimum bid, rental, or

minimum royalty.

Note: For the minimum bid only, if the

calculation results in a decimal figure, round

up to the next whole dollar amount (see next

paragraph). The minimum bid calculation,

including all rounding, is shown in the

document ‘‘List of Blocks Available for

Leasing in Central Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil

and Gas Sale 178, Part 1’’ included in the

Sale Notice Package.

Method of Bidding: For each block bid

upon, a bidder must submit a separate

signed bid in a sealed envelope labeled

‘‘Sealed Bid for Oil and Gas Lease Sale

178, Part 1, not to be opened until 9

a.m., Wednesday, March 28, 2001.’’ The

total amount bid must be in a whole

dollar amount; any cent amount above

the whole dollar will be ignored by the

MMS. Details of the information

required on the bid(s) and the bid

envelope(s) are specified in the

document ‘‘Bid Form and Envelope’’

contained in the Sale Notice Package.

The MMS published a list of

restricted joint bidders, which applies to

this sale, in the Federal Register at 65

FR 59869, on October 6, 2000. Bidders

must execute all documents in

conformance with signatory

authorizations on file in the MMS Gulf

of Mexico Regional Office. Partnerships

also must submit or have on file a list

of signatories authorized to bind the

partnership. Bidders submitting joint

bids must state on the bid form the

proportionate interest of each

participating bidder, in percent to a

maximum of five decimal places, e.g.,

33.33333 percent. The MMS may

require bidders to submit other

documents in accordance with 30 CFR

256.46. The MMS warns bidders against

violation of 18 U.S.C. 1860 prohibiting

unlawful combination or intimidation of

bidders. Bidders are advised that the

MMS considers the signed bid to be a

legally binding obligation on the part of

the bidder(s) to comply with all

applicable regulations, including paying

the 1⁄5th bonus on all high bids. A

statement to this effect must be included

on each bid (see the document ‘‘Bid

Form and Envelope’’ contained in the

Sale Notice Package).

Bid Deposit: Submitters of high bids

must deposit the 1⁄5th bonus by using

electronic funds transfer (EFT)

procedures, following the detailed

instructions contained in the document

‘‘Instructions for Making EFT Bonus

Payments’’ included in the Sale Notice

Package. All payments must be

electronically deposited into an interestbearing account in the U.S. Treasury

(account specified in the EFT

instructions) during the period the bids

11526 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2001 / Notices

are being considered. Such a deposit

does not constitute and shall not be

construed as acceptance of any bid on

behalf of the United States.

Note: Certain bid submitters (i.e., those that

do NOT currently own or operate an OCS

mineral lease OR those that have ever

defaulted on a 1⁄5th bonus payment (EFT or

otherwise)) are required to guarantee (secure)

their 1⁄5th bonus payment. For those who

must secure the EFT 1⁄5th bonus payment,

one of the following options may be used: 1.

Provide a third-party guaranty; 2. Amend

Development Bond Coverage; 3. Provide a

Letter of Credit; or 4. Provide a lump sum

payment via EFT prior to the sale. The EFT

instructions specify the requirements for

each option.

Withdrawal of Blocks: The United

States reserves the right to withdraw

any block from this 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. In any

case, no bid will be accepted, and no

lease for any block will be awarded to

any bidder, unless the bidder has

complied with all requirements of this

Notice, including the documents

contained in the associated Sale Notice

Package and applicable regulations; the

bid is the highest valid bid; and the

amount of the bid has been determined

to be adequate by the authorized officer.

Any bid submitted which does not

conform to the requirements of this

Notice, the OCS Lands Act, as amended,

and other applicable regulations may be

returned to the person submitting that

bid by the RD and not considered for

acceptance. To ensure that the

Government receives a fair return for the

conveyance of lease rights for this sale,

high bids will be evaluated in

accordance with MMS bid adequacy

procedures. A copy of the current

procedures, ‘‘Modifications to the Bid

Adequacy Procedures’’ (64 FR 37560 of

July 12, 1999), effective July 1, 1999, is

available from the MMS Gulf of Mexico

Regional Office Public Information Unit.

Successful Bidders: As required by

MMS, each company that has been

awarded a lease must execute all copies

of the lease (Form MMS–2005 (March

1986) as amended), pay the balance of

the cash bonus bid along with the first

year’s annual rental for each lease

issued by EFT in accordance with the

requirements of 30 CFR 218.155, and

satisfy the bonding requirements of 30

CFR 256, Subpart I, as amended. Each

bidder in a successful high bid must

have on file, in the MMS Gulf of Mexico

Regional Office Adjudication Unit, a

currently valid certification (Debarment

Certification Form) certifying that the

bidder is not excluded from

participation in primary covered

transactions under Federal

nonprocurement programs and

activities. A certification previously

provided to that office remains currently

valid until new or revised information

applicable to that certification becomes

available. In the event of new or revised

applicable information, the MMS will

require a subsequent certification before

lease issuance can occur. Persons

submitting such certifications should

review the requirements of 43 CFR, Part

12, Subpart D. A copy of the Debarment

Certification Form is contained in the

Sale Notice Package.

Affirmative Action: The MMS

requests that the certification required

by 41 CFR 60–1.7(b) and Executive

Order No. 11246 of September 24, 1965,

as amended by Executive Order No.

11375 of October 13, 1967, on the

Compliance Report Certification Form,

Form MMS–2033 (June 1985), and the

Affirmative Action Representation

Form, Form MMS–2032 (June 1985), be

on file in the MMS Gulf of Mexico

Regional Office Adjudication Unit prior

to bidding. In any event, these forms are

required to be on file in the MMS Gulf

of Mexico Regional Office Adjudication

Unit prior to execution of any lease

contract. Bidders must also comply with

the requirements of 41 CFR 60.

Information to Lessees: The Sale

Notice Package contains a document

titled ‘‘Information to Lessees.’’ These

Information to Lessees items provide

information on various matters of

interest to potential bidders.

Dated: February 16, 2001.

Thomas R. Kitsos,

Acting Director, Minerals Management

Service.

Piet deWitt,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Land and

Minerals Management.

[FR Doc. 01–4491 Filed 2–22–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P