The Final Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale Program for 2012 to 2017 includes a lease sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area (Sale 242) in 2017. The program excluded two subsistence whaling areas near Barrow and Kaktovik from leasing.
The Beaufort Sea Planning Area is complex, with significant overlap between areas that may offer significant hydrocarbon resource potential and other uses, including subsistence hunting and fishing. Therefore, it is necessary to take the time available prior to the scheduled potential sale to further analyze the resource potential in the area, including consideration of any exploration activity in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area under existing leases, and further develop scientific information and incorporate traditional knowledge regarding environmental factors and subsistence uses. This ongoing analysis will inform decisions about the configuration of the Beaufort Sea planning area lease sale, as well as any specific mitigation measures that may be appropriate.
CHRONOLOGY
Oct. 16, 2015: The Department of the Interior cancels Lease Sale 242. Press Release | Federal Register notice
Sept. 24, 2014: Comment period closes for Lease Sale 242 Call for Information and Nominations.
July 25, 2014: BOEM ISSUES CALL FOR INFORMATION AND NOMINATIONS FOR POTENTIAL 2017 OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE OFFSHORE ALASKA. Agency Seeks Public Comment on Oil & Gas Resource Potential and Information on other Environmental and Cultural Values within Beaufort Sea Planning Area.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – As part of its commitment to a regionally tailored approach to safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today issued a Call for Information and Nominations for potential Oil and Gas Lease Sale 242, proposed for the Beaufort Sea Planning Area off Alaska in 2017. The 45-day Call seeks to gather information about specific areas within the Beaufort Sea Planning Area that have the most promising oil and gas resource potential, while also increasing the agency’s understanding about environmentally sensitive habitats and important social and cultural uses – including vital Alaska Native subsistence activities – that also exist within the area. News Release
As noted in the Federal Register, comments must be received by midnight EST on Sept. 12, 2014.