The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is considering several options for leasing part of 4.6 million acres in the northeastern corner of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, adjacent to fields near Prudhoe Bay.
It will recommend to the Interior Secretary in June whether to allow exploration. No sales are likely before 1999.
Interior decided to consider leasing due to discoveries just east of the NPR-A (OGJ, Jan. 20, 1997, p. 33).
BLM's planning covered NPR-A north of Umiat and west from the Colville River boundary to the Ikpikpuk River.
Interior has postulated potential reserves in the study area at 494 million bbl.
It listed five options: to continue the leasing ban in the region or lease 50%, 75%, 90%, or virtually all of it. BLM is accepting public comments on the options.
Interior held four NPR-A lease sales during 1982-84. ARCO Alaska Inc. drilled and abandoned a hole there in 1985. BLM received no bids in its final lease sale, and a planned sale in 1985 was canceled due to legal challenges and lack of interest.
BLM said two portions of the planning area have especially imporant surface resources.
It said the Teshekpuk Lake region has diverse wildlife and a caribou herd that provides meat for nearby North Slope villages. It is the summer breeding and nesting ground for migratory waterbirds, including the Spectacled and Steller's eiders, both recently added to the list of threatened and endangered species.
BLM said the Colville River valley provides important habitat for wildlife, including the arctic peregrine falcon that was an endangered species until 1994. It also contains major paleontological deposits.
BLM noted it could recommend that Congress designate the Colville River as a "wild" river, which would bar above-ground pipelines and motorized traffic.
Copyright 1997 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
