Arena Energy Awarded Eleven Blocks in Lease Sale 257, Adding Over 50,000 Acres to Existing Footprint on Gulf of Mexico Shelf

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Dec. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena Energy, LLC ("Arena"), a leading independent oil and gas exploration company focused on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, today announced it was recently awarded eleven leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in Lease Sale 257.

BOEM conducted Lease Sale 257 in November 2021, but it was subsequently vacated by a federal judge in January 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden in August, required reinstatement of the sale and the leases were finally awarded in October 2022.

Arena was the successful bidder on eleven leases in water depths ranging from 30 to 283 feet in Eugene Island, South Pelto, and West Delta in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Arena paid $3.8 million in lease bonuses to the federal government for the leases.

"These leases and future lease sales are critical to our continued investments in the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, and we applaud Senator Joe Manchin's leadership in ensuring that reinstatement of Lease Sale 257 was a key component of the Inflation Reduction Act," said Arena Co-Founder and CEO Mike Minarovic. "The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes that sustained production from the Gulf of Mexico is vital for energy security and reducing global emissions, as the oil and natural gas produced in the Gulf is among the least carbon-intensive production in the world."

"We have been one of the most active and successful drillers in the Gulf of Mexico since we started the company over twenty years ago," Minarovic continued. "We are as excited as we've ever been about the future of the shallow water Gulf of Mexico. The value we will unlock as we develop these assets will benefit Arena, the thousands of employees and vendors who make up our domestic supply chain, and future production on these leases will generate significant royalties for U.S. taxpayers."

Arena Energy, LLC was founded in 1999 on the belief that mature producing areas of the Gulf of Mexico Shelf still held vast potential – and that with the right technology, talented oil and gas finders could unlock these drilling opportunities. Today, that vision has been realized many times over. Since its founding, Arena has grown into one the largest private offshore oil and natural gas companies, having invested more than $4 billion of capital in the Gulf of Mexico, paid $1.4 billion in royalties to the federal government, and decommissioned over 300 wells and 45 platforms and other structures. Arena takes pride in safely and responsibly producing the energy that powers the United States and the world.

Contact Information:
Kevin Bruce
Vice President - Government Affairs
[email protected]
281-210-0536

SOURCE Arena Energy, Llc