Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today that Interior will accelerate a lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, holding it before the end of this year; sales will then be held annually.
“As part of President Obama’s comprehensive energy strategy, Interior is moving ahead with these concrete steps to continue to expand responsible and safe domestic oil production,” Salazar said in a statement. “In Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, where there are estimates of great reserves of undiscovered oil and gas, we will hold a lease sale this year and work to hold future lease sales on an annual basis.”
Interior said the Bureau of Land Management will publish a notice in the Federal Register “in the near future” announcing a 30-day period for interested parties to nominate or comment on available tracts in NPR-A.
BLM has conducted six lease sales in NPR-A, offering tracts in the Northeast Planning Area in 1999, 2002 and 2010, and in the Northwest Planning Area in 2004 and 2006. Tracts were offered in both planning areas in 2008.
BLM currently administers some 191 oil and gas leases in NPR-A.
See story in June 19 issue, available online at 11 a.m., Friday, June 17 at www.PetroleumNews.com
