Four majors bid for 29 leases in Beaufort Sea

Four oil companies have submitted high bids totaling $6,239,015 for 29 tracts covering 91,000 acres in the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska. Sale 170, held last week in Anchorage, offered 241 blocks encompassing about 1 million acres. All carried a 12.5% royalty. The firms submitted 31 bids in all, exposing $6,487,034. BP had the highest bid, $911,922 for Beechey Point Block 6669 east of Prudhoe Bay field. Phillips Petroleum Co. had apparent high bids on 13 tracts, Petrofina Delaware Inc. on 7

Aug. 10, 1998

Four oil companies have submitted high bids totaling $6,239,015 for 29 tracts covering 91,000 acres in the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska.

Sale 170, held last week in Anchorage, offered 241 blocks encompassing about 1 million acres. All carried a 12.5% royalty.

The firms submitted 31 bids in all, exposing $6,487,034.

BP had the highest bid, $911,922 for Beechey Point Block 6669 east of Prudhoe Bay field. Phillips Petroleum Co. had apparent high bids on 13 tracts, Petrofina Delaware Inc. on 7 tracts, and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. on 5 tracts.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and ARCO Alaska Inc. were apparent high bidders as 50-50 partners on two blocks. A partnership of BP and Chevron had apparent high bids on two more. The sale offered leases from the Colville River east toward the Canning River in an offshore area "believed to hold substantial oil reserves," MMS said.

The agency defined the sale area after consulting with an advisory board representing the state, North Slope Borough, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, local communities, environmental groups, and the oil industry.