On the block: U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was on hand in New Orleans this morning when federal regulators put more than 38 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico up for bid to offshore energy producers. The sale includes about 7,299 federally owned drilling tracts, three to 230 miles off the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The tracts are in water depths of nine to more than 11,115 feet. It’s estimated the sale could lead to the production of 460 million to 890 million barrels of oil and 1.9 trillion to 3.9 trillion cubic feet of gas.
All along the injured coast: Sen. Mary Landrieu is reintroducing legislation today with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to allow states that produce offshore oil and gas to split 37.5% of the royalties. Currently, Landrieu says, “onshore producing states keep 50% of royalties, rentals and bonuses bids,” while “offshore producing states keep virtually nothing.” The legislation would also lift a $500 million a year cap on revenues kept by Gulf Coast states. A slightly different version of the bill died in Congress last year.
In need of innovations: Steve Gleason spent his 36th birthday in New Orleans challenging a room of entrepreneurs to come up with technological solutions to assist those with disabilities. Tuesday kicked off the inaugural Gleason Challenge as part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, which is run by Idea Village. Gleason, a former New Orleans Saints special teams standout, eventually lost the use of his voice after being diagnosed with ALS two years ago. He uses his eyes to compose sentences via a computer monitor attached to his wheelchair. A speaker on the computer then says the words aloud. The Times-Picayune has the full story here.
Today’s poll question: Based on what you’ve heard about F. King Alexander thus far, do you think he would be successful as the next president of LSU?
