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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 208 / Monday, November 1, 2021 / Notices is referred to as a live bid. To participate in the next round of the auction, a bidder must have submitted a live bid in each previous round.
As long as there are two or more live bids for the Lease Area, the auction moves to the next round. BOEM will continue to raise the asking price if two or more live bids are made in the previous round. Asking price increments would be determined based on several factors, including but not necessarily limited to the expected time needed to conduct the auction and the number of rounds that have already occurred. BOEM reserves the right to increase or decrease bidding increments as it deems appropriate.
Generally, a bidder that submitted a live bid in the previous round is free to continue bidding in the current round.
If a bidder decides to stop bidding in a subsequent round, that bidder could still win the auction. For example, that bidder could be ultimately selected in the winner determination that is described in detail below, or the winning bidder may be disqualified at the award stage of the auction. If this happens, the bidder may be bound by its bid and thus obligated to pay the full bid amount. Bidders may be bound by any of their bids until the auction results are finalized.
Between rounds, BOEM would disclose to all bidders that submitted bids in the previous round: 1 The number of live bids in the previous round of the auction i.e., the level of demand at the asking price; and 2 the asking price for the lease area in the upcoming round of the auction.
In any round after the first round, a bidder may submit an exit bid. An exit bid is a bid that is higher than the previous rounds asking price, but less than the current rounds asking price.
An exit bid is not a live bid, and it represents the final bid from the bidder who submitted it. During the auction, the exit bid can be seen only by BOEM, not by other bidders.
The auction will end after the first round in which only one or zero live bids is received. BOEM will then determine the provisional winner to be the bidder with the highest bid, whether the bid was a live bid or an exit bid. The auction system will resolve any tie by generating pseudo-random numbers.
The provisional winner must pay the amount of its provisionally winning bid.
A provisional winner may be disqualified if it is subsequently found to have violated auction rules or BOEM
regulations, or otherwise engaged in conduct detrimental to the integrity of the competitive auction. If a bidder submits a bid that BOEM determines to
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be a provisionally winning bid, the bidder will be expected to sign the applicable lease documents, establish financial assurance, and submit the balance if any of its bonus bid i.e., winning monetary bid less the applicable non-monetary bidding credit and bid deposit within 10-business days of receiving the lease copies, pursuant to 30 CFR 585.224. BOEM
reserves the right not to issue the lease to the provisionally winning bidder if that bidder neither timely signs the lease copies, establishes financial assurance, nor pays the balance of its winning bid, or otherwise fails to comply with applicable regulations or the terms of the FSN. In that case, the bidder would forfeit its bid deposit.
BOEM may consider failure of a bidder to timely pay the full amount due to be an indication that the bidder may no longer be financially qualified to participate in other lease sales under 30
CFR 585.106 and 585.107.
BOEM will publish the provisionally winning bidder and bid amount. The bid results, including exit bids, will be published on BOEMs website after review of the results and announcement of the provisional winner.
c. Additional Information Regarding the Auction Format i. Bidder Authentication: For the online auction, BOEM will require twofactor authentication. After BOEM has processed the bid deposits, the auction contractor will send several bidder authentication packages to the bidders.
One package will contain digital authentication tokens needed to allow access to the auction website. Note:
BOEM reserves the right to use software tokens instead of hardware tokens. If used, software tokens will be provided through electronic communications. As a general practice, tokens are mailed to the primary point of contact indicated on the BFF. This individual is responsible for distributing the tokens to the individuals authorized to bid for that company. Up to three individuals can be nominated to bid for each bidder.
Bidders are to ensure that each token is returned within three business days following the auction. An addressed, stamped envelope will be provided to facilitate this process. If a bidder fails to submit a bid deposit or does not participate in the auction, BOEM will de-activate that bidders tokens and login information, and the bidder must return its tokens. Under certain circumstances e.g., if the authorized bidders are geographically dispersed and the ability of the primary point of contact to timely distribute the materials is in question, BOEM may send all
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materials directly to the authorized bidders.
The second package will contain login credentials for authorized bidders. The login credentials are mailed to the address provided in the BFF for each authorized individual. Bidders can confirm these addresses by calling 703
7871121. BOEM may also use email to provide login credentials. This package will contain user login information and instructions for accessing the auction systems Bidder Manual and the Auction System Technical Supplement ASTS. The login information, along with the tokens, will be tested during the mock auction.
ii. Timing of Auction: The FSN will provide specific information regarding when bidders can enter the auction system and when the auction will start.
iii. Messaging service: BOEM and the auction contractors will use the auction platform messaging service to keep bidders informed on issues of interest during the auction. For example, BOEM
may change the schedule at any time, including during the auction. If BOEM
changes the schedule during an auction, it will use the messaging feature to notify bidders that a revision has been made and will direct bidders to the relevant page. BOEM will also use the messaging system for other updates during the auction.
Bidders may place bids at any time during the round. At the top of the bidding page, a countdown clock shows how much time remains in the round.
Bidders have until the scheduled time to place bids. Bidders should do so according to the procedures described in this notice and the ASTS.
Information about the round results will be made available only after the round has closed, so there is no strategic advantage to placing bids early or late in the round.
The ASTS elaborates on the auction procedures described in this PSN. In the event of an inconsistency between the Bidder Manual, the ASTS, and the FSN, the FSN is controlling.
iv. Alternate Bidding Procedures: It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure it has a working internet connection and backup procedures in place in case its internet connection is disrupted during the auction. Such backup procedures can include redundant internet connections, multiple individual authorized to place bids on behalf of the company, geographically dispersing individuals who are authorized to bid with different internet connections, and placing bids using a mobile data connection. The bidder is responsible for testing its backup procedures ahead
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