ALASKA OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES

National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A)

BLM manages more than 22 million acres of surface estate plus the subsurface mineral rights to an additional ~650,000 acres in the ~23 million-acre NPR-A.

The BLM generally conducts annual oil and gas lease sales in the NPR-A. In May 1999, the BLM held its first NPR-A lease sale since 1984, offering nearly 3.9 million acres within the Northeast Planning Area. Since 1999, the BLM has held lease sales in both the Northwest (NW) and Northeast (NE) Planning Areas. A February 2013 Record of Decision (ROD) opened tracts for leasing in the southern NPR-A, and tracts in the far west were created after a 2014 deferral expired.  

On April 25, 2022, the Department of the Interior signed a new Record of Decision to guide management of the NPR-A. The ROD adopted Alternative A, the No Action Alternative, as analyzed in the 2020 NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement. The plan adopted by this Decision provides for management consistent with the Integrated Activity Plan approved in the 2013 NPR-A ROD. Under this plan, approximately 11.8 million acres of the NPR-A’s subsurface estate are available for oil and gas leasing. The remaining approximately 11 million acres of the NPR-A are closed to oil and gas leasing under this plan in order to protect and conserve important surface resources and uses in these areas.

Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The 1,563,500-acre Coastal Plain is highly prospective for oil and gas resources, estimated to contain between 4.25 and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. The entire oil program area will be made available to oil and gas leasing subject to applicable lease stipulations and required operating procedures.

The BLM conducted its first lease sale in the Coastal Plain of ANWR Jan. 6, 2021, pursuant to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program August 2020 Record of Decision (ROD) with any future oil and gas development actions requiring a separate detailed environmental analysis.

Secretary of the Interior Order 3401: In June 2021 suspended all activities related to implementing the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program pending completion of a comprehensive analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.

An Aug. 4, 2021, Federal Register notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement initiated the scoping process to begin the comprehensive analysis of potential environmental impacts, including addressing deficiencies identified in the Secretary’s order.

View current and recent oil and gas lease sale notices and results below.