Hydro has been awarded 14 new blocks - ten of them as operator - in the 198th licensing round in the Gulf of Mexico.
Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, awarded the blocks, which are situated on prominent Gulf acreage, on 15 March.
Hydro submitted 28 bids, the highest going to the 14 blocks of which 11 are in deep water and three on the shelf.
The company will pay roughly USD 21 million for the blocks awarded with a average license share of 77 percent. The acreage in question covers a total area of 317 square kilometers, and increases Hydro’s area of participation in the Gulf to roughly 9,390 square kilometers.
“There was a lot of competition for both the deep water and shelf blocks. The bidders were newcomers and several major companies. We are very pleased with this addition to our portfolio,” says senior vice president Kelly Barnes of Hydro Gulf of Mexico.