The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas took in $4.5 million at its Cook Inlet Areawide oil and gas lease sale today in Anchorage. Division Director Bill Barron said the dollar value was the third largest for Cook Inlet areawide sales, which began in 1999, and the sixth largest in terms of acreage. He said the interest in the sale speaks to “activity and potential” still available in Cook Inlet. The state received bids on 28 tracts, 145,739 acres.
Hilcorp Alaska dominated the sale, taking 19 tracts for $2.7 million, 60 percent of the dollar value of the sale and 70 percent of the acreage. Cook Inlet Energy, with $871,200 in winning bids for five tracts, accounted for 20 percent of the dollar value of the sale and the 20 percent of acreage.
Other winning bidders — Aurora Gas, William Crawford, NordAq and Woodstone Resources — each took single tracts.
The heaviest bidding in the sale was on the southern Kenai Peninsula. Barron said after the sale that acreage was picked up around Deep Creek, West Eagle and North Fork.
Two other sales were also held today.
The state received no bids in the Alaska Peninsula areawide oil and gas lease sale and a single bid in the Augustine Island geothermal lease sale.
—Kristen Nelson
See story in May 12 issue, available online at 11 a.m., Friday, May 10 at www.PetroleumNews.com
