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MMS asks for interest in ’07 inlet sale
The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service is asking for expressions of interest by industry in a proposed 2007 Cook Inlet outer continental shelf lease sale.
Two Cook Inlet sales are included in Interior’s 2002-07 five-year OCS leasing program. An environmental impact statement covering both sales was prepared and the first sale was held in 2004, but received no bids.
The second sale was proposed for 2006, but when MMS received no comments or interest from industry, it delayed the sale to 2007.
MMS is now asking if there is interest in holding Sale 199 in May 2007. “If bona fide interest from companies is received, we will proceed with the planning for the sale. If no interest is shown, Sale 199 will not be held,” the agency said in the Federal Register Dec. 6. Goll: stable energy supply needed in area “We are hopeful that companies have renewed interest in Cook Inlet given the current energy situation and the need for natural gas in the area,” MMS Alaska Regional Director John Goll said in a statement. “The federal OCS in Cook Inlet remains relatively unexplored, with the last exploration well drilled in 1984. The region needs a stable supply of energy and raw materials to keep the state’s economy growing. Sales in the federal portion of Cook Inlet would complement the state’s strong program,” Goll said.
Comments are due within 30 days. If there is interest, area identification would be in February, National Environmental Policy Act/Environmental Assessment Review (or supplemental EIS) and consistency determination would be in December 2006. A final notice of sale would be published in April 2007 and the sale would be held in May 2007.
The State of Alaska receives 27 percent of all revenues generated as a result of federal leases that lie within three to six miles offshore the Alaska coast.
—Petroleum News
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