U.S. rent out millions of acres of the Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. government has designated the date of the auction, which will lease the 20.6 million acres (8.3 million hectares) of submerged land in the western Gulf of Mexico, reports AFP. This is more than 3900 sites, where lies about 423 million barrels of oil and 2.65 trillion cubic meters of gas. Bidding will be held on December 14 in New Orleans. Newspaper The Wall Street Journal points out that Washington first decided to rent the shelf in the Gulf of Mexico after the April tragedy last year on a platform Deepwater Horizon company BP. Police Chief Ken Salazar United States has expressed hope that the auction will win the producers to ensure environmentally friendly production. The initial price per acre more than $ 100. For comparison, prior to the accident rate was 37.5 dollars. In May, with rising gas prices, U.S. President Barack Obama announced measures to increase energy production in the country, including mention of the possibility of return to rent plots in the Gulf of Mexico.