Following statements earlier in the week that the state would be delaying the annual oil and gas lease sales originally scheduled for Oct. 26, the Department of Natural Resources said this afternoon that the sales have tentatively been rescheduled to Dec. 7 and will be held at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.
The three sales — the areawide Beaufort Sea, North Slope and North Slope Foothills — cover a combined area of some 14.7 million acres, DNR said in a press release just issued.
DNR said the delay in the sales is because more acreage could possibly become available by delaying the sales and to provide companies additional time to prepare for the sales.
DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan said in the release that the state is continuing to “aggressively market” the leases to potential investors.
“We have had indications of interest from certain companies, and we want to provide them with ample opportunity to prepare for possible participation in the upcoming lease sales,” Sullivan said.
See full story in the Sept. 18 issue of Petroleum News, which will be available online by noon on Sept. 16 at petroleumnews.com
