The U.S. Minerals Management Service said today that it had received 31 bids for tracts offered in federal Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sale 170, Beaufort Sea. The bids were opened this morning in Anchorage.
MMS offered 241 whole and partial blocks encompassing about one million acres offshore Alaska’s North Slope, extending from the Colville River east toward the Canning River.
High bids totaling $6,239,015 were submitted on 29 tracts. The highest bid received was $911,922, submitted by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. for block NR06-03 which is offshore near Beechey Point.
Bidders included BP separately and in conjunction with Chevron USA, ARCO Alaska Inc. in partnership with Chevron, Petrofina Delaware Inc., Petrofina co-bidding with BP, and Phillips Petroleum Co. Inc.
All tracts leased were in the Beechey Point area except for five tracts near Flaxman Island. Three of those tracts were leased by Petrofina; one to co-bidders BP and Petrofina; and another to bidding partners BP and Chevron.
