DNR approves lease deals across state

NOTE: A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska (www.mapmakersalaska.com/) was a research tool used in preparing this story.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources approved a wide range of small land transactions across the state in May, according to recently released lease reports.

• Escopeta Oil Co. LLC transferred small royalty interests, all in quantities less than 4 percent, in 24 leases at its Kitchen Lights unit in the waters of the upper Cook Inlet to a variety of small investors including Allen Lawrence Berry Trust, Chase Moresey Living Trust, Double D Family Trust, The Flex Benefit Co., Galena Energy Corp., Giza Holdings LLC, J.M. Drummond, Larry O. Berg, Medicine Bow Ventures LP, Rifle Oil Co. and Taia Energy Inc. Individual investors Peter and Melissa Foley transferred a 0.1 percent royalty interest in seven leases at Kitchen Lights to Hewitt Mineral Corp.

• BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. gave a small working and royalty interest in one segment of lease at the Northstar unit — ADL 312799 — to Murphy Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

• ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. allowed a lease between the Prudhoe Bay and Dewline units — ADL 390420 — to expire. ExxonMobil Production Inc. allowed a lease just south of the Prudhoe Bay unit — ADL 390495 — to expire. Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc. allowed a lease just southeast of its Oooguruk unit — ADL 390504 — to expire.

• Chevron U.S.A. Inc. transferred royalty interests in quantities less than 6.5 percent in seven Cook Inlet leases — two in the Ninilchik unit, two in the Trading Bay unit and three in the North Cook Inlet unit — to its affiliate Union Oil Co. of California.

• James A. White transferred 100 percent working interest and 87.5 percent royalty interest in two leases in the Arctic Fortitude unit to his company Alaskan Crude Corp.

• ConocoPhillips transferred a 39.19 percent working interest and 32.66 percent royalty interest in one lease west of the Kuparuk River unit — ADL 390503 — to BP, and a working and royalty interest less than 1 percent in the same lease to ExxonMobil.

• Buccaneer Alaska LLC, Renaissance Alaska LLC and Stellar Oil and Gas LLC, three independent oil companies that share some executives, traded royalty interests worth 1 percent or less in four leases at the Buccaneer-operated Northwest Cook Inlet unit.

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. transferred a 10 percent working interest and 8.33 percent royalty interest in seven onshore leases south of the Point Thomson unit to Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the Alaska Native corporation that already owns a share of the acreage.

• Individual investors Daniel Donkel and Samuel Cade transferred complete working interest and partial royalty interest in eight Cook Inlet leases to Apache Alaska Corp.

Donkel and Cade also transferred total working and partial royalty interest in two Beaufort Sea leases — ADL 390825 and ADL 390827 — to Brooks Range Development Corp., TG World Energy Inc., AVCG LLC and Ramshorn Investments Inc.

—Eric Lidji