Division requests new lease sale info

Annual areawide lease sales are planned for the Beaufort Sea and North Slope Foothills in the second half of 2018 and the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, has a request out for “substantial new information that has become available over the past year concerning these areas.”

Information is due April 9.

Based on information received the division said it would either issue supplements to the findings for the sales or decisions of no substantial new information.

The most recent Beaufort Sea areawide final best interest finding was issued in 2009 and the latest supplement was issued in 2011. The most recent North Slope Foothills final BIF was issued in 2011 and no supplement has been issued. Findings and supplements are available at: http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/Services/BIFAndLeaseSale.

The division said it is not seeking new information for the North Slope areawide sale because a preliminary BIF was issued Jan. 31 for that sale area with comments due April 2.

In the preliminary North Slope BIF tracts jointly owned by the state and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. that were previously within the Beaufort Sea areawide boundary have been moved into the North Slope areawide boundary. “If the final North Slope Areawide best interest finding adopts the boundary changes set forth in the preliminary finding a corresponding supplement to the Beaufort Sea Areawide best interest finding will be issued,” the division said.

- Petroleum News