Scheduled to take place on 06 December 2017, the oil and gas lease sale will be the 13th in the NPR-A since 1999 and is planned to be conducted via video livestream.
Covering 10.3 million acres, the 900 tracts comprise all the tracts which were designated as available for development in the 2013 Record of Decision for the Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for the NPR-A, BLM said.
The BLM expects the production of oil derived from sales, which will offer the largest number of tracts ever for oil & gas lease, to help reload the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said: “This large and unprecedented sale in Alaska will help achieve our goal of American Energy Dominance.”
The NPR-A comprise 189 authorized leases which cover more than 1,372,688 acres.
BLM said that the 12 previous sales generated over $280m while the State of Alaska received half of this generated amount.
Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources chairman Senator Lisa Murkowski said: “Responsible development in the NPR-A will strengthen our economy, begin to refill our Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and generate new wealth to create prosperity and reduce our deficits. Those are substantial benefits—and this lease sale is a key step to gaining them.”
Image: A picture of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. Photo: courtesy of Unknown USGS employee/Wikipedia.
