BOEM Offers Cook Inlet Blocks Offshore Alaska
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it will offer approximately 1.09 million acres off Alaska’s southcentral coast in a lease sale scheduled for June 21.
Cook Inlet Oil & Gas Lease Sale 244 will offer 224 blocks toward the northern part of the federal Cook Inlet Planning Area for leasing. The blocks stretch roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south.
“We conducted a robust environmental analysis and look forward to holding Alaska’s first OCS lease sale since 2008,” said Dr. Walter Cruickshank, BOEM’s acting director. “The areas offered for leasing represent a careful balance between jobs, energy development, and natural resource protection.”
Livestreaming a lease sale enables BOEM to deliver pertinent bid information immediately to a broad national and international audiences, making it unnecessary to attend the lease sale in person.
The lease sale is the thirteenth and final OCS lease sale under the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program). Together, these lease sales have netted more than $3 billion for American taxpayers.
In December 2016, BOEM published a Final Environmental Impact Statement relating to the lease sale.
The lease sale terms include stipulations to protect biologically sensitive resources, mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species, and avoid potential conflicts associated with oil and gas development in the region.
BOEM’s proposed economic terms are designed to encourage diligent development and ensure a fair return to taxpayers. A full list of terms and conditions are in the Final Notice of Sale.
