Preliminary finding for NS Foothills area

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas said Feb. 24 that a preliminary written finding of the director for the North Slope Foothills areawide oil and gas lease sale is available for public comment. Best interest findings for the state’s five areawide sale areas - Alaska Peninsula, Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, North Slope and North Slope Foothills - are required every 10 years. Prior to each annual sale, the division issues a call for any substantial new information.

On May 5 of last year the division initiated the 10-year review for the North Slope Foothills area with a request for information to state and federal agencies, and boroughs, cities and villages.

A preliminary best interest finding has been prepared and is available on the division’s website at http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/Services/BIFAndLeaseSale.

Comments must be received by 5 p.m. April 26.

The state currently has no active leases in the foothills area. The last sale to draw bids in that area was in 2012, when Anadarko Petroleum, which left the state in 2018 and has since merged with Chevron, bid on eight tracts, some 46,000 acres.

- KRISTEN NELSON