The U.S. authorities will offer more than a million acres for exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet in a lease sale in June.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said on Thursday around 1.09 million acres will be offered off Alaska’s southcentral coast. The lease sale “Cook Inlet Oil & Gas Lease Sale 244“ has been scheduled for June 21.
It will offer 224 blocks toward the northern part of the federal Cook Inlet Planning Area for leasing. The blocks stretch roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south.
“We conducted a robust environmental analysis and look forward to holding Alaska’s first OCS lease sale since 2008,” said Dr. Walter Cruickshank , BOEM’s acting director. “The areas offered for leasing represent a careful balance between jobs, energy development, and natural resource protection.”
The lease sale is the thirteenth and final OCS lease sale under the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program).