FOR RELEASE:  May 10, 1995                  CONTACT:  Tom DeRocco
                                                   (202) 208-3983
     
                  HIGH BIDS TOTAL $307 MILLION
            IN CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO LEASE SALE 152
     
     High bids totaling $307,328,050 were offered today in a
federal offshore natural gas and oil lease sale in the Central Gulf
of Mexico.  A total of 88 companies participated in Sale 152, held
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
     
    The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service
(MMS) received 880 bids on 588 tracts; 5810 tracts comprising
approximately 31.2 million acres located offshore Alabama, 
Louisiana, and Mississippi were offered.  This is the fourth 
highest number of bids received in 41 Central Gulf of Mexico sales;
it also ranks fourth in total number of blocks receiving bids.
     
     "The results of this sale certainly surpassed our
expectations," said MMS Director Cynthia Quarterman, "and confirm 
industry's continuing interest in the viability of the Gulf."  She
said MMS had estimated $112 million in high bids for Sale 152.

     "The fact that this sale was even held is nothing short of
miraculous given the severe weather in the New Orleans area 
recently," said Quarterman.  "We've had reports of industry 
representatives wading through waist-deep water or landing 
helicopters near our office to get their bids submitted." 
Yesterday, MMS had extended the deadline for submitting bids for 
this sale until 8:59 (CST) this morning.  
     
     "But I'm in awe of our MMS employees," she declared.  "At a
time when bashing federal career employees seems to be in vogue, 
our people got the job done, with some putting themselves at risk 
to accomplish this sale.  I'm very proud of them."
     
     Quarterman said that some credit for the success of the sale
may be attributable to the release for the first time ever of 
additional information about blocks with confirmed discoveries but 
no longer under lease.  "Making this information available was the 
early fruit of the alternative leasing policies under consideration
in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico.  We want to do whatever 
we can to promote promising deepwater portions of the Central and 
Western Gulf," declared Quarterman.   
     
     Estimated recoverable hydrocarbons expected to be developed
through Sale 152 are about 110 million barrels of oil and 1.06 
trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  Sale 152 is the fifth sale 
under the 1992-1997 Comprehensive Natural Gas and Oil Resource 
Program.
     
     The highest bid received was $21,040,095 submitted by
Kerr-McGee for Block South Timbalier S.266.  The block receiving 
the highest number of bids (10 bids) was East Cameron 126.  
     
     The highest bid on a block will go through an evaluation
process to assure that taxpayers receive fair market value before
a lease is awarded.  Each block is approximately nine square miles.
     
     MMS is the federal agency that manages and regulates the
nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the OCS, 
and collects and disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from
offshore federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on 
federal and Indian lands.
     
                              -MMS-