Hilcorp surrenders 5 Cook Inlet leases

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas March lease report had activity on only five leases, all surrendered by Hilcorp Alaska on March 2. All five are on the southern portion of the Kenai Peninsula in Southcentral Alaska; none are adjacent to existing production.

The most southerly, ADL 392254, is southeast of the North Fork field, on the southern border of the Cook Inlet lease sale area.

A block of three surrendered leases, ADL 392244, 392246 and 392247, are east of the Deep Creek field, with one abutting the eastern border of the Cook Inlet sale area. The fifth lease, ADL 392249, is the most easterly of a group of leases southeast of Deep Creek and abuts the edge of the Cook Inlet lease sale area on the northern edge of the sale area’s most easterly block.

Hilcorp acquired the leases in a May 2012 state oil and gas lease sale; all had expiration dates of April 30, 2023. Hilcorp’s per-acre bids on these leases ranged from $29.75 to $60 per acre.

- KRISTEN NELSON