2019 Beaufort Sea OCS Oil And Gas Lease Sale

Beaufort Call Map

The 2019-2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (DPP) provides for three OCS Oil & Gas lease sales in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea: One each in 2019, 2021 and 2023. These lease sales have not yet received numerical designations.

The 2019-2024 DPP has not yet been approved, and a sale cannot take place unless the program in which it was proposed has been approved. But a great deal of advance planning is required to conduct a lease sale.The fact that BOEM staff have initiated planning for these potential lease sales does not mean a decision has been made as to whether or not to hold these sales.

The 2019-2024 National OCS Oil & Gas Leasing Program is expected to be finalized in 2019. The proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea lease sale, if kept on the schedule, would be held later in 2019.

CHRONOLOGY

2019
Jan 04

Scoping period ends for Environmental Impact Statement. BOEM will use comments received to help inform the preparation of a draft Environmental Impact Statement.
    2018
    Dec 11

    BOEM extends the public scoping period for an upcoming environmental impact statement relating to a proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea oil and gas lease sale. Due to disruptions caused by the Nov. 30 Anchorage-area earthquake, the comment period, formerly scheduled to end Dec. 17, will now end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.

    The bureau has already held one public scoping meeting, in Anchorage. Three other scoping meetings have been rescheduled as detailed below

    NEW SCOPING MEETING SCHEDULE
    All Times 7pm - 10pm

    Date                       Location
    Dec. 17                    Utqiagvik (Iñupiat Heritage Center) 
    Dec. 18                    Nuiqsut (Kisik Community Center) 
    Dec. 19                    Kaktovik (Community Center)
      Dec 3   Following the Nov. 30 earthquake in Anchorage, the scoping meetings in Utqiagvik, Nuiqsut and Kaktovik (see Nov. 16 entry) are canceled -- they may be rescheduled for a future date if circumstances permit. BOEM is still planning on holding the Dec. 6 scoping meeting in Anchorage.
      Nov 16

      A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (see entry for Nov 15, below) is published in the Federal Register. This publication opens a public comment period extending through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Dec. 17 [UPDATE: Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. See Dec. 11 entry, above]. During this time, BOEM will hold public scoping meetings and accept comments online.

      SCOPING MEETING SCHEDULE
      [See updated entry for Dec. 11, above.]
      Nov 15

      BOEM announces that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in support of a potential 2019 oil and gas lease sale in the Beaufort Sea.

      The Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 16. The Nov. 16 publication will open a public comment period extending through Monday, Dec. 17. 
      May 30

      Call for Information and Nominations comment period closes.
      May 10

      Extension of comment period to May 30, 2018, is published in the Federal Register. 
      May 09

      Extension of comment period to May 30, 2018, is published to the Federal Register's Reading Room.
      Apr 25

      BOEM extends by 30 days the deadline for commenting on the Call for Information and Nominations referenced in the March 28, 2018 entry below. Comments will now be received until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 30.
      Mar 30

      The Beaufort Sea 2019 Call for Information and Nominations is published in the Federal Register (see March 28 entry, below). This publication initiates a 30-day public comment period ending 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, April 30, 2018 [EDIT: Wednesday, May 30]. 
      Mar 29

      The Beaufort Sea 2019 Call for Information and Nominations (referenced in the March 28 entry below) appears in the Federal Register's Reading Room.
      Mar 28

      BOEM announces that it will issue a Call for Information and Nominations relating to a proposed 2019 oil and gas lease sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area, as included in the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program that BOEM published Jan. 4, 2018. The purpose of the Call is to solicit industry nominations for areas of leasing interest and to gather comments and information on the area included in the Call for consideration in planning future OCS oil and gas lease sales.

      The Call will appear in the Federal Register's Reading Room on Thursday, March 29, and in the Federal Register itself on Friday, March 30. The publication of the Call in the Federal Register will initiate a 30-day public comment period lasting from March 30, 2018 to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, April 30, 2018 [EDIT: On April 25, BOEM announced that this deadline would be extended to Wednesday, May 30, 2018].