BLM Requests Nominations and Comments for 2016 NPR-A Oil & Gas Lease Sale
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today published a notice in the Federal Register calling for nominations and comments on available tracts to be considered for its fall 2016 oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).
The notice announces a 30-day period in which interested parties may nominate or comment on available tracts. The Federal Register notice is the first step in the process leading up to the next oil and gas lease sale, which is tentatively scheduled for fall of 2016. BLM Alaska must receive all nominations and comments on these tracts for consideration on or before May 2, 2016.
"This Call for Nominations and Comments gives industry, conservation groups, and other stakeholders the opportunity to provide input into which tracts should be included in or excluded from the sale," according to Bud Cribley, BLM Alaska State Director.
To select which tracts will be available for the oil and gas lease sale, BLM will consider the results from the Call for Nominations and Comments, existing natural resource and environmental data, the location of existing leases, multiple-use conflicts, resource potential, industry interest, and other available information. This determination will be made consistent with the allocations and stipulations identified by the Record of Decision for the NPR-A wide Integrated Activity Plan of 2013.
There are 949 tracts on approximately 10.7 million acres that will be available for nomination and comment under this lease sale. Currently, there are 134 authorized oil and gas leases totaling 867,320 acres in the NPR-A.
The Notice of Sale will be published in the Federal Register at least 30 days prior to the sale.
A map showing available areas is available on the BLM website, http://www.blm.gov/ak.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.