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Schedules changing for state, BLM lease sales, both online
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Schedules are changing for the annual State of Alaska and federal Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sales, which in recent years have been held the same day late in the year.
The state’s offerings include three areawide sales - the Beaufort Sea, North Slope and North Slope Foothills; BLM’s sale is for portions of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas revised its regulations last year, among other updates adding a provision allowing online bidding for oil and gas lease sales.
This spring, faced with social distancing requirements due to COVID-19, the division was already positioned for online bidding, which was how the areawide Alaska Peninsula and Cook Inlet sales were held.
The division said when it public noticed those spring sales that it had contracted with EnergyNet Services LLC to provide an online bidding system.
Schedule changing Alaska Division of Oil and Gas Director Tom Stokes told PN in an Oct. 26 email that the division would again be working with EnergyNet to offer oil and gas acreage through online bidding.
“This sale will be the first to feature Northern Alaska areawides through this platform,” Stokes said.
Jan. 13 is the anticipated sale date, allowing “for more time to improve data availability and GIS shapefiles for bidders who may be new to Alaska.”
Stokes said public notice of the sale is anticipated by Nov. 20.
The Bureau of Land Management is also moving its NPR-A sale. In recent years, the state and BLM have coordinated their sale dates, with the state opening bids in the morning and BLM in the afternoon.
In recent years, however, BLM has opened bids online.
“There are many elements associated with scheduling and holding a lease sale to support developing America’s energy resources responsibly, and timing is one of them,” Lesli Ellis-Wouters, communications director for BLM Alaska, said in an Oct. 26 email.
“Interest in leasing and development within the NPR-A remains generally strong. Of note in 2019, BLM Alaska had one of its most successful NPR-A lease sales in recent years, generating $11,268,709.
She said BLM does follow a procedural timeline in scheduling its sales but said “the time of year is a matter of agency discretion and has varied from year to year.” While the agency strives for a consistent time, “that is one consideration among many.”
She said she anticipates a record of decision on the next NPR-A sale by the end of the year.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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