Cook Inlet busy in February lease report

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources finalized the termination of the offshore Cosmopolitan unit and the expiration of most of its leases in its February lease report.

Operator Pioneer Natural Resources relinquished the Cook Inlet unit, located off the coast of Anchor Point, earlier this year, but kept two leases held by certified wells.

The Division of Oil and Gas also issued leases from the May 2010 Cook Inlet areawide lease sale to Armstrong Cook Inlet, Buccaneer, Cook Inlet Energy, Escopeta Oil and NordAq Energy, as well as individual bidders Monte Allen, Dan Donkel and Paul Craig.

Also in February, Union Oil Co. of California transferred its 50 percent working interest in a single lease at the Southern Cross unit to operator Buccaneer Alaska. Unocal also transferred a 40.75 percent royalty interest in the lease — ADL 391108. Buccaneer in turn transferred a 1 percent royalty interest in the same lease to Stellar Oil and Gas.

Southern Cross, initially called North Middle Ground Shoal, is located northeast of the Chevron-operated Trading Bay unit in the state waters of upper Cook Inlet.

Buccaneer Alaska also transferred a 3 percent royalty interest in four leases at its onshore Kenai Loop project to Stellar. Stellar and Buccaneer Alaska share several executives.

—Eric Lidji