Minerals Management Service’s outer continental shelf Beaufort Sea sale, held today in Anchorage, was dominated by Shell Offshore Inc.
Shell was the only bidder on 86 tracts with bids totaling $44.4 million. There were 121 bids in the sale totaling $46.7 million, with no competing bids. Bids were on acreage ranging from north of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in the west to north of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the east.
Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh told Petroleum News the company has “been investigating returning to Alaska for some time and this lease sale has allowed us to build a new position there for Shell.”
Armstrong Alaska was the only bidder on 20 tracts, with total bids of $1.24 million.
ConocoPhillips Alaska was the only bidder on 13 tracts, with total bids of $1.1 million.
MMS said the tracts receiving bids totaled 618,751 acres. The tract drawing the highest bid — $12.2 million from Shell — was previously explored as the Hammerhead prospect, the agency said.
