BOEM calls for Chukchi info, nominations

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is calling for information and nominations for a potential 2016 Chukchi Sea oil and gas lease sale.

The agency said Sept. 26 that the 45-day call is the first step in a targeted approach to offshore Alaska leasing under the Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program 2012-2017, published last summer.

“The Chukchi Sea has substantial oil and gas potential, but also is a unique and sensitive environment that provides for the subsistence of Alaska Natives living on the North Slope,” BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau said in a statement. He said any future Chukchi leasing “must be focused on areas that can be developed safely and responsibly while also protecting sensitive habitats and places that are important to Alaska Native hunters and fishermen.”

Industry is requested to identify specific blocks of interest and provide detailed information on the basis for its interest in nominated areas, “including a summary of the relevant geologic, geophysical and economic information.”

Interested parties are also asked to provide comments and information about “conditions such as bottom hazards; archaeological sites on the seabed or nearshore; multiple uses of the area, including navigation and subsistence; and other socioeconomic, biological or environmental information.”

BOEM said it would make decisions about potential areas for leasing after evaluating industry interest and environmental and traditional knowledge.

—Petroleum News