Talos high bidder for two Gulf of Mexico blocks

November 20, 2020, by Bojan Lepic

Oil and gas company Talos Energy was the high bidder on two deepwater blocks in the recent Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Federal Lease Sale 256, held on 18 November.

Talos said on Friday that it placed a sole bid on the Viosca Knoll 1000 as well as a joint bid with an affiliate of BP on Green Canyon 866 blocks.

When approved, the blocks will provide an additional 11,520 gross acres for future exploration acquired at an average cost of less than $300 per gross acre.

President and CEO of Talos Timothy S. Duncan said: “We are happy with the results of our bidding efforts in the most recent lease sale, and look forward to adding the additional acreage and exploration prospects to our portfolio.

“The Viosca Knoll 1000 block contains a technically mature prospect located approximately five miles from the Talos-operated Ram Powell facility, greatly enhancing potential project economics due to the quick cycle time, short tie-back distance and 100 per cent Talos infrastructure ownership.

“The Green Canyon 866 lease expands our collaboration with BP around the Puma West prospect area and offers low-cost option value in the event of a commercial discovery at the prospect.

“As one of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s largest independent operators, we’re proud of the role we play in exploring for and developing our rich domestic energy resources to provide secure, affordable energy supply while also being an industry leader in safety and environmental performance“.

Talos assets in Gulf of Mexico; Source: Talos

Building on the success of OCS Federal Lease Sale 256, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced on 17 November 2020 that OCS Federal Lease Sale 257 will be held on 17 March 2021.

Over 78 million acres across 14,594 unleased blocks will be put on offer. The offer will comprise all of the available unleased areas in federal waters in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Lease Sale 257 will be the eighth offshore sale under the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, the program required by federal law under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.