Hilcorp Alaska was the sole bidder in Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244, the first lease sale held in Alaskan federal waters since 2008.

A unit of Hilcorp Energy Co., Hilcorp Alaska offered approximately US$3 million in high bids for 14 tracts covering approximately 76,615 acres in Cook Inlet offshore south central Alaska, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) reported in a 21 June press statement.

Lease Sale 244 offered 1.09 million acres in Cook Inlet, comprising 224 blocks stretching roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south. It is the final sale to be held under BOEM’s 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Prior to Lease Sale 244, 12 lease sales were held under the program, which offered about 73 million acres for development and generated about $3.275 billion in bid revenues.

The 2017-2022 Program will begin this summer and remain in effect until BOEM completes a new National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program as part of President Donald Trump’s America First Offshore Energy Strategy. This strategy was outlined in the President’s Executive Order 13795 on 28 April 2017, and amplified by Secretary Zinke’s Secretary’s Order 3350 on 1 May 2017.

“This sale represents an important step forward for energy development in Alaska,” said Dr. Walter Cruickshank, BOEM’s acting director, in the release. “It demonstrates our commitment to environmentally responsible energy development that provides economic opportunities and generates jobs. Expanded oil and gas production is critical to America’s economic and energy security, as we move to strengthen the Nation’s energy independence in accordance with the administration’s goals.”

Source: www.oedigital.com