ANWR sale bid opening set

Bids due Dec. 31, opening Jan. 6; KIC requests incidental take for seismic

Steve Sutherlin

Petroleum News

The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office has announced an early January date for its oil and gas lease sale bid opening for tracts in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The bid opening will be at 10 a.m. Alaska Standard Time Jan. 6, according to a notice filed Dec. 7 in the Federal Register.

The BLM must receive all sealed bids Dec. 31 by 4 p.m. Alaska Standard Time. The opening and reading of the bids will be available via video livestreaming at www.blm.gov/live.

Alaska’s congressional delegation lauded the BLM announcement.

“This is a tremendous step forward for our state and the countless Alaskans who make a living in our energy sector,” said Rep. Don Young. “Finally achieving what was promised by ANILCA four decades ago is in sight, and I want to thank everyone involved for their ongoing hard work and commitment.”

On Nov. 17, BLM Alaska published a notice in the Federal Register calling for nominations and comments on 32 tracts covering all 1.6 million acres of the ANWR Coastal Plain to consider in the lease sale. The plain, also referred to as the ANWR 1002 area, was set aside by Congress years ago because of its oil and gas potential.

BLM Alaska must receive all nominations and comments on the tracts on or before Dec. 17, the notice said.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt signed a record of decision Aug. 17, approving the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the refuge.

Although the Interior Board of Land Appeals ruled against the state Nov. 9 in a decades-long border dispute over title to 19,322 acres along the western edge of the refuge, the land in question may not be included in the upcoming sale.

IBLA’s denial of an appeal filed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water over a 2016 BLM decision cleared the way for the state to litigate its position in federal court, should it so choose.

“Tract number 29 covers the disputed Staines-Canning River area. It is currently under litigation with the State of Alaska,” the Nov. 17 notice said. “The BLM may elect to not offer this tract in the upcoming sale.”

The leasing program is required by law in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-97), which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, 2017. The first of two congressionally mandated lease sales in the area must be held no later than the end of 2021.

KIC files incidental take authorization

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a notice of receipt of application and proposed incidental harassment authorization in the Federal Register Dec. 8, together with an availability of draft environmental assessment, and request for comments.

USFWS estimated that the project may result in the nonlethal incidental take of up to three polar bears.

“This proposed authorization, if finalized, will be for take of three polar bears by Level B harassment only,” USFWS said in the notice. “No take by injury or death to polar bears is likely and therefore such take is not included in this proposed authorization.”

KIC’s Marsh Creek East 3D seismic program would consist of activities such as overflights for aerial infrared surveys in January and February to locate maternal polar bear dens; staging and mobilization of vehicles and equipment; small crew surveys for hazards, ice integrity and snow depth assessment; seismic surveys via a sled camp with rubber-tracked vibrator trucks; camp setup and mobilization; aerial activities for crew and supply transport; digital elevation modeling for river-crossing slope analysis; and cleanup activities during the summer of 2021, USFWS said.

Comments on the proposed authorization and the draft environmental assessment must be received by USFWS no later than Jan. 7.