The U.S. and Russia are laying the groundwork for possible simultaneous lease sales in 1997 offering tracts in the Chukchi Sea between Siberia and Alaska.
The Russian Federation's 1994-2000 Far East oil and gas leasing program called for a sale in its waters, and the U.S. Minerals Management Service's 5 year leasing plan listed a possible Chukchi sale in 1997.
Five wildcats have been drilled in the U.S. portion of the Chukchi Sea. None was successful. There has been no drilling in the Russian sector.
SALE PLANS
Under their proposal, the two governments are to cooperate in developing their respective lease sale plans, sharing environmental, geologic, cultural, and technological analyses.
They also are to decide separately on the terms of their sales and whether to proceed with them. Both countries soon will request public comment on the sale proposals.
MMS Director Tom Fry said, "The U.S. and the Russian Federation would benefit from this cooperative venture by establishing sound environmental standards that would apply across the Chukchi Sea and by establishing a common infrastructure in this remote, environmentally sensitive region which would make the possibility of offshore mineral exploration and development more economically feasible.
"Further, the Russian Federation will benefit from the extensive experience of the MMS in preparing the analyses and arranging for the constituent involvement necessary for decisions on areas to be offered to the private sector.
"Western companies would also benefit if the Russian Federation were able to structure investment opportunities with greater certainty as to the environmental and economic conditions that must be met."
RUSSIAN-U.S. TALKS
MMS said Russian personnel in the Far East began to communicate with their MMS counterparts after the opening of the Soviet Union in 1985. Initial talks focused on bow-head whale research and later extended to geologic matters. Eventually, the Russians proposed the simultaneous Chukchi sales.
MMS has been advising the Russians on offshore leasing through an Agency for International Development grant. AID funding will be sought to plan for the simultaneous sales.
The U.S. portion of the sale would include tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Hope basin planning areas, while Russia's sale would cover its northern and southern Chukchi planning areas.
MMS said the fact that the sales would straddle a provisional maritime boundary, not one ratified by treaty, would not be a detriment.
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