Oil companies place heavy wager on tracts at Baltimore Canyon

Journal Article · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1976 · Offshore; (United States)

OSTI ID:7305997

Leblanc, L

On August 17, 1976, bids on 101 of the 154 tracts offered in the mid-Atlantic lease sale netted a total of $1,135,802,178. Early geophysical surveys and deep stratigraphic tests indicated the presence of hydrocarbons in the 876,000 acre geological basin known as the Baltimore Canyon Trough. The 154 tracts offered lie in water depths from 131 to 607 ft and range from 47 to 92 miles offshore the states of New Jersey and Delaware. A total of 401 bids were placed by operators exposing over $3.5 billion. The ''big winner'' was Exxon, which paid $348.6 million for 34 tracts. A total of 13 operators or operator groups won a piece of the action in the Baltimore Canyon. Below Exxon, the operator investing the most in the sale was Mobil, which paid $274 million for eight tracts. Next came Shell, with $182.9 million for 12 tracts, and Chevron, with $127.8 million for 13 tracts. The holding of a lease sale is certainly not the final word on drilling off the U.S. East Coast. Late in September 1976, the Second U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan was to hold a hearing on the overall environmental effects of offshore oil production. Operators are optimistic, considering that the sale was allowed to proceed as scheduled, and expect to work out future problems with environmentalists and state officials as they occur. (MCW)

• OSTI ID: 7305997
• Journal Information: Offshore; (United States), Journal Name: Offshore; (United States) Vol. 36:10; ISSN OFSHA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
021000 -- Petroleum-- Legislation & Regulations
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294002* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
LEASES
LEASING
LEGAL ASPECTS
NORTH AMERICA
OFFSHORE SITES
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WEATHER