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Archive for the ‘Alaska’ Category

Lackluster ANWR sale. Implications for Arctic offshore leasing?

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , on June 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The Canning River, seen here in 2018, flows from the Brooks Range into the Beaufort Sea along the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The river marks the boundary between the refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and state land on the North Slope. Results of an oil lease sale that offered 58 tracts in the refuge’s coastal plan drew bids on five tracts. The highest-dollar bid was for a tract right at the Canning River edge of the refuge’s border with state land. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Yesterday’s mandated One Big Beautiful Bill sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge turned out to be a one-on-one competition between an Alaskan independent and a State agency! Only 5 of the 58 tracts received bids, and the high bid was $1.7 million.

The competitors:

  • HEX Energy, an Alaskan independent: 4 bids, 2 high bids
  • Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), the state government’s economic development agency: 5 bids, 1 high bid

Full sale results

The implications for Arctic offshore sales are not good, but oil companies can be fickle, and opinions and investment strategies are subject to change, especially in the Arctic.

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The events that led to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve also drove the rapid expansion of the offshore program

Posted in Alaska, California, energy policy, Georges Bank, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 5, 2026| 2 Comments »

Nothing tilts public opinion more than high gasoline prices, or worse yet shortages! Hence the 1975 legislation establishing the SPR, the massive SPR drawdown in 2022, and this year’s withdrawals.

Looking back to the halcyon days of the US offshore program, it was the gas lines in the 1970s that drove the remarkable and rather unlikely growth in the program during the Carter Administration (1977-1981). A few highlights from those four years:

  • 15 lease sales including 3 offshore Alaska, 3 in the Atlantic, and 1 offshore California
  • Drilling activity in all 4 regions: GoM, Pacific, Alaska, and Atlantic
  • Natural gas discovery in the Mid Atlantic (Hudson Canyon Unit)
  • North, Mid, and South Atlantic District offices for permitting and inspections
  • 5300 well starts including 97 in water depths > 1000′
  • 314 new platforms including Cognac, the world’s first platform in > 1000′ of water

Perhaps unthinkable today, the Governor of Massachusetts from 1979-1983, Ed King, was a strong supporter of offshore drilling. Absent that support, the exploratory drilling on Georges Bank would probably have never occurred. /s/ Nostalgic Old Man 😉

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Nice NPRA lease sale

Posted in Alaska, energy, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Not offshore, but close😉 Fond memories of my stay at NPRA many years ago.

Strong participation; nice mix of big dogs – Exxon, Shell, ConocoPhillips (CPAI), and Repsol – and independents.

Stats – 3/18/2026 NPRA lease sale:

  • Tracts offered: 625
  • Tracts receiving bids: 187
  • Sum of high bids: $ 163,696,722.2
  • Highest bid: $ 3,649,920.00 by Epoch Resources
  • Companies participating: 11
  • Total bids: 430
CompanyHigh Bids
North Slope Exploration78
Shell/Repsol (joint bids)42
CPAI30
Exxon24
Epoch8
Peritas2
Beacon1
Oil Search1
SE Partners1

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Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1 oil and gas lease sale draws no bids

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on March 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The results of today’s Cook inlet oil and gas lease sale are disappointing, but not surprising.

BOEM: At this time, no bids have been received. In accordance with OBBBA, we will continue to hold leasing opportunities for Cook Inlet so that industry has a regular, predictable federal leasing schedule that ensures we achieve President Trump’s American Energy Dominance Agenda.

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Cook Inlet Lease Sale tomorrow

Posted in Alaska, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , on March 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Expectations are low for tomorrow’s Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale. The last Cook Inlet sale (2022) attracted only one bid (Hilcorp – $63,983).

The final sale notice is attached. The terms are favorable, most notably the 1/8 royalty and 10 year primary lease term.

Hopefully, we’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Cook Inlet saleDownload

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Lease Sale BBG1 bid evaluation update; 2 more lease sales upcoming

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Tracts receiving bids in Sale BBG1

To date,BOEM has deemed 96 of the 181 BBG1 high bids to be acceptable. No high bids have been rejected. Although the sale was “beautiful but not big,” the bids were relatively strong on a per acre basis. The number of rejected bids may thus be quite low.

No bids were accepted during BBG1’s Phase 1 review. This means that none of the tracts receiving bids were determined to be nonviable as was the case for the 199 tracts that were improperly acquired for carbon disposal purposes in Sales 257, 259, and 261. (Unsurprisingly, neither of the acquiring companies has submitted an exploration plan for any of these CCS leases. The leases will likely expire without activity. Much to the dismay of the large and diverse group of opponents, the carbon disposal industry is focusing on onshore locations along the Gulf Coast.)

Meanwhile, a Cook Inlet lease sale is scheduled for March 4, and another Gulf of America sale will be held on March 11. Despite attractive terms, don’t expect either to be a banner “red jacket” lease sale. (See the John Rankin recognition below.)

More information on BOEM’s bid evaluation process.

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“Mine Baby, Mine” 😉

Posted in Alaska, deep sea mining, energy policy, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is initiating the first steps that could potentially lead to a lease sale for minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Alaska by publishing this request for information and interest (RFI).”

The Federal Register Notice is attached.

2026-01808Download

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Largest North American land rig topples while being relocated

Posted in accidents, Alaska, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Doyon 26, the Largest Land Drilling Rig in North America, Tips Over on Alaska’s North Slope
byu/AccomplishedStuff235 inDamnthatsinteresting

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The Draft Proposed Leasing Program has been published!

Posted in Alaska, California, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on November 20, 2025| 2 Comments »

The press release and full program are linked. It looks like the most recent leaks were accurate. See the maps below with the locations and dates. This will stir the pot!

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OCS leasing schedule announced

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on August 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Offshore Lease Sale Schedule 

Year Cook Inlet Sale Gulf of America Sales 
2025 — Dec. 10 
2026 March March, August 
2027 March March, August 
2028 March March, August 
2029 — March, August 
2030 March March, August 
2031 March March, August 
2032 March March, August 
2033–2039 — March, August 
2040 — March 

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