Oil and Gas - Alaska

If an industry operator wishes to explore for or extract oil, natural gas or other marine minerals in federal waters, it must first obtain a lease. A lease gives the operator the exclusive right to operate on an offshore block of submerged land, usually measuring 3 miles by 3 miles. Leases are obtained via a bidding process during a lease sale. How the leasing process works.

Lease Sale Schedule

The National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program establishes a schedule of oil and gas lease sales, usually over a five-year period. The Program specifies the size, timing and location of potential leasing activity that the Secretary of the Interior determines will best meet national energy needs.

Currently BOEM is working under the 2017-2022 National OCS Program. 

Alaska Lease Sales

Maps Showing Active OCS Leases

Data

  • Detailed Listing of Active Leases. A table detailing all the individual tracts currently leased, including the lease owner, date leased, date lease expires, etc.
  • Historical Alaska Region Lease Sales. This one-page table gives an overview of all lease sales held in Alaska, including number of tracts offered, number of tracts leased, and acreage.
  • Alaska Lease Holdings by Owner. This table lists the companies currently holding leases in Alaska, together with the number of leases held and the resulting acreage.
  • Alaska Lease Data Report. Contains a detailed, block-by-block breakdown (lease number, area code, block number, low and maximum water depths, protraction number, district code, distance to shore, and more) of Alaska leases.
  • Combined Leasing Status Report. Updated monthly, this overview includes not only Alaska, but also the current leasing situations in BOEM's other two regions: The Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Contact
BOEM Alaska Region Leasing and Plans Office
3801 Centerpoint Drive Ste 500
Anchorage AK 99503-5823
Ph: 907-334-5274 Fax: 907-334-5322

If a leaseholder wants to explore for or develop oil and gas resources, the leaseholder must first submit a plan to BOEM for approval. The Plans Section coordinates the review and authorization of these plans.

Exploration Plans

An Initial Exploration Plan describes all exploration activities planned by an operator for a specific lease(s), the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each well, and an analysis of both offshore and onshore impacts that may occur as a result of the plan's implementation. 

Development and Production Plans

A Development and Production Plan (DPP) is a plan that describes development and production activities proposed by an operator for a lease or group of leases. The description includes the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each proposed well or production platform or other structure, and an analysis of both offshore and onshore impacts that may occur as a result of the plan's implementation.  

Ancillary Activities

Ancillary Activities are Geological and Geophysical (G&G) exploration and development activities conducted to detect oil, gas, or sulphur in commercial quantities. Other Ancillary Activities are conducted for data collection regarding geological, archaeological, biologic, oceanographic, or other information or studies related to discharge modeling. Geotechnical evaluations are Ancillary Activities designed to assess the geologic characteristics, stability, and potential hazards of a proposed site or route.

Hilcorp Cook Inlet

Hilcorp/BP Liberty Prospect

Shell

Statoil

Data
 

Detailed Breakdown of Wells by Planning Area

Alaska OCS Historical Plans

Beaufort Sea Planning Area

Chukchi Sea Planning Area

Well Reports

Contact
BOEM Alaska Region Leasing and Plans Office
3801 Centerpoint Drive Ste 500
Anchorage AK 99503-5823
Ph: 907-334-5274 Fax: 907-334-5322

Current and Historical Permits - A list of the currently open G&G permits in the Alaska Region, together with data regarding past permitting activities.

Obtaining a Permit - Companies that wish to collect geological and/or geophysical data on the Alaska OCS must obtain a permit from BOEM's Alaska Region Resource Evaluation Office. Here you will find permit application forms, and records concerning past permitting.

Resource Assessment Reports - Resource Evaluation prepares reports that describe the geology and petroleum potential of specific areas within the Alaska OCS. These geologic reports form part of the public information base for decision-making with regard to lease offerings. The reports cover a wide range of topics, including regional geology, petroleum geology and environmental geology.

Released Geological and Geophysical Data - Geological and geophysical exploration for oil and gas on the OCS is primarily carried out by private companies operating under BOEM permits. To ensure that the Federal Government receives fair market value for any leases issued, BOEM has acquired a large portion of the data resulting from these exploration activities. Federal regulations require that this data be held proprietary for 25 years, then released to the public. The first such data was released in 2001.

Contact
BOEM Alaska Region Leasing Office
3801 Centerpoint Drive Ste 500
Anchorage AK 99503-5823
Ph: 907-334-5274 Fax: 907-334-5322