American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016 - 22

IndustryDigest
drill, the Common Pleas Court cited
Morrison v. Beck Energy Corp., in
which the Ohio Supreme Court
recognized the state's sole and exclusive
authority to regulate oil and gas
operations in the state. The analysis
points out that MADION argued
Morrison addressed only the home-rule
powers of municipal governments,
which the anti-drilling group contended
were "distinct and apart" from the
people's right to self-government.
The courts disagreed. ❒

Louisiana State Court
Removes Zoning Block
BATON ROUGE, LA.-Another
Louisiana court decision has stymied
efforts by local opponents to undermine
an oil and gas project in St. Tammany
Parish, La.
The Louisiana Oil & Gas
Association reports Louisiana's 1st
Circuit Court of Appeal on March 9
upheld a lower court ruling that St.
Tammany Parish zoning regulations
cannot block an oil drilling project
proposed by Helis Oil & Gas Company.
LOGA Vice President Gifford Briggs
indicates the ruling is no surprise. "The
court ruling is consistent with previous
court rulings and our expectations," he
says. "It is unfortunate a company has
to go through this process in order to
even begin considering exploratory
drilling, especially at a time when the
state needs the resources and the jobs
more than ever."
Previous rulings on the project
include both the current case and
separate litigation, which has upheld a
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wetlands
permit that a federal judge affirmed in
late December (AOGR, Feb. 2016, pg.
18). Even so, Briggs allows, the most
recent ruling is likely to move to the
Louisiana Supreme Court. ❒

Central Gulf Sale 241 Nets
$156 Million in High Bids
NEW ORLEANS-Central Gulf of
Mexico Lease Sale 241 generated $156
million in apparent high bids, with 30
oil and gas companies submitting 148
bids on 128 blocks, according to the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Eastern Gulf Sale 226 was held
concurrently with Sale 241 on March
22 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

23, but BOEM reports no offers were
received for any of the 162 blocks
offered in Sale 226.
Houston Energy was the most active
company at Sale 241, based on the
number of high bids submitted,
tendering 21 bids totaling $1.5 million,
BOEM data show. Red Willow Offshore
($6.8 million) and BP Exploration &
Production ($18.0 million) each had 19
high bids.
LLOG Exploration was the fourth
most active bidder with 17 high offers
totaling $8.0 million, BOEM says,
followed by Ridgewood Energy Corp.
(16 bids totaling $8.7 million), Shell (12
bids totaling $24.9 million), Chevron
U.S.A. (11 bids totaling $18.1 million),
Cobalt International Energy (six bids
totaling $3.2 million), Total E&P USA
(six bids totaling $2.3 million), and
Exxon Mobil (five bids totaling $10.6
million).
Shell was the top spender based on
the sum of high bids, followed by BHP
Billiton (four bids totaling $18.6
million), Chevron U.S.A., BP
Exploration & Production, Exxon
Mobil, Ridgewood Energy, LLOG
Exploration, Red Willow Offshore,
Deep Gulf Energy III (one bid totaling
$6.5 million), and Statoil Gulf of
Mexico (three bids totaling $4.8
million), according to BOEM.
Chevron and Venari Offshore
partnered to submit the highest bid at
Sale 241: $13.7 million for Mississippi
Canyon 434 in ultradeep water. BHP
Billiton Petroleum's offer of $13.2
million for deepwater Green Canyon
475 ranked as the second highest bid,
followed by BP Exploration &
Production and Noble Energy jointly
offering $8.0 million for Mississippi
Canyon 518.
BOEM says the shallowest-water
block among the top 10 highest bids
was Mississippi Canyon 749 in 200-400
meters of water. LLOG Exploration, in
partnership with Houston Energy, Red
Willow Offshore and Ridgewood
Energy, tendered a $3.0 million bid for
the tract.
Blocks in water depths greater than
800 meters accounted for nearly twothirds of all leases receiving bids and 85
percent of the total high bids. BOEM
points out that Sale 241 recorded high
bids totaling $74.7 million for 41 tracts
in 1,600 or more meters of water and
$59.4 million in high bids for 40 blocks

in water depth of 800-1,600 meters.
Walker Ridge 595 in 3,016 meters
was the deepest-water block to attract a
bid, but BOEM says companies also bid
on 27 blocks in less than 200 meters of
water, with high bids totaling $4.9
million. ❒

Brunson Gets Head Start
As NMOGA Top Officer
SANTA FE., N.M.-Having retired
from his position at Energen Corp. in
Birmingham, Al., New Mexico Oil &
Gas Association Chairman D. Paul
Sparks stepped down from the position
and resigned from the group's board of
directors in early March. He is
succeeded by NMOGA Chairman-elect
Cliff Brunson of BBC International in
Hobbs, N.M. Brunson has been
president of BBC International since
1980. He also served as NMOGA's
chairman from October 2001-October
2002.
NMOGA indicates Brunson will
serve the remainder of Sparks' term, as
well as the term for which he was
originally slated, which runs October
2016-October 2017. The group
indicates Brunson's tenure will allow
him to help guide NMOGA's strategy
during the 2017 New Mexico
Legislature's 60-day session, adding
that the 60-day sessions typically are
much more intense than the 30-day
sessions that occur every other year.
NMOGA reports that John Byrom
also has resigned from NMOGA's board
as he prepares to leave his position at
D.J. Simmons in Farmington, N.M. ❒

Gas Storage Levels
Decrease By 116 Bcf
WASHINGTON-Underground
natural gas storage in the United States
stood at 2.468 trillion cubic feet on
March 25, 51.9 percent above the five
year average, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration.
That was down 116 billion cubic feet
from the 2.584 Tcf in storage on Feb.
19, which was 28.7 percent above the
five-year average. The March 25 storage
number was 1.001 Tcf more than a year
ago, when gas storage stood at 1.467
Tcf.
EIA unveiled new classifications for
SEE GAS STORAGE PAGE 32
American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016

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