MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Overall, 148 bids were submitted for 128 tracts in the Central Planning Area. BOEM had offered tracts in both the Central and Eastern planning areas of the Gulf, however, no bids were received in the Eastern Planning Area.
"The decline in oil prices and low natural gas prices obviously affect industry’s short-term investment decisions, but the Gulf’s long-term value to the nation remains high and the President’s energy strategy continues to offer millions of offshore acres for development," BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper said as quoted in the Wednesday release.
The lease sales are part of US President Barack Obama Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017.
Over 100 people protested against the oil and gas lease sale on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
