Formerly known as the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, the National Petroleum Reserve -Alaska is a vast 23-million acre area on Alaska's North Slope has a history of nearly 100 years of petroleum exploration. In 1923, mindful of the land's conceivable petroleum value, President Harding set aside these 23 million acres as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy. In 1976, in accordance with the Naval Petroleum Reserve Production Act, the administration of the reserve was transferred to the Department of the Interior, more specifically the Bureau of Land Management, and was renamed to what is now known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
Oil and gas leasing in the NPR-A is authorized under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C.6501 et seq.), as amended including the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1981 (94 Stat. 2964). Regulations for NPR-A oil and gas leasing, exploration and operations are found in 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 3130, 3150, 3160, respectively. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and related regulations do not apply to leasing in the NPR-A. Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statements (IAP/EIS) have been prepared for both the Northeast and Northwest planning areas.
The BLM has held five lease sales in the NPR-A (Northeast - 1999 and 2002; Northwest - 2004 and 2006; and in 2008 tracts in both the NE and NW were offered) and currently administers more than 300 Federal oil and gas leases.
NEW! Effective November 2, 2009, the BLM increased the Application for Permit to Drill (APD) processing fee to $6500.
Regulations
View the Code of Federal Regulations part 43 specific to both the NPR-A and the Cook Inlet/Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.
Lease ownership (RTIs) and operator rights often get transferred. View a list of the updates from 2005 - present.
NPR-A Oil and Gas Activity
View a list of the most current NPR-A oil and gas exploration activities.
View a list of pending APDs and NOSs for both the NPR-A and the Cook Inlet Basin/Kenai Peninsula.
Legacy Well Program
Provides links to the Legacy Well Report, information on legacy well achievements and a brief history of NPR-A. Keep checking these pages-there is more information coming.
Arctic Field Office Planning Home Page
This link takes you to the BLM's Arctic Field Office planning homepage, which includes announcements of proposed plans, lists of ongoing projects, and links to recently published NEPA documents for NPR-A and other BLM lands on the North Slope.
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