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The Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 included one special-interest lease sale in the Cook Inlet Planning Area (Sale 244). This sale occurred June 21, 2017. The bid reading was live-streamed from this page.
CHRONOLOGY
| 2024 | |
| Sept. 19 | BOEM sends to Hilcorp a letter acknowledging the lease relinquishments detailed in the Sept. 17 item, below. |
| Sept. 17 | Hilcorp Alaska, LLC, informs BOEM that it is relinquishing the rights to seven leased blocks in Cook Inlet. The leased blocks are: OCS-Y-02434, OCS-Y-02435, OCS-Y-02436, OCS-Y-02438, OCS-Y-02442, OCS-Y-02446, and OCS-Y-02447. The rights to all seven were acquired in Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244, held in June 2017. Hilcorp retains the rights to eight Cook Inlet leases: seven obtained via Lease Sale 244; and one obtained via Lease Sale 258, held in December 2022. |
| 2017 | |
| Sep 13 | National Marine Fisheries Service issues the Biological Opinion for Lease Sale 244 |
| Jun 21 | Cook Inlet OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244 brings in more than $3 million in high bids. |
| Jun 21 | The reading of the bids for Cook Inlet OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244 will be broadcast today via webstream. The webstream will be accessible by clicking on the banner on this page. The stream may be accessed beginning at 9:30 a.m. Alaska Time (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time). Reading of the bids will begin at 10 a.m. Alaska Time (2 p.m. Eastern Time). |
| Jun 20 | Bidding closes for Cook Inlet OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244. |
| May 26 | US Fish and Wildlife Service issues the Biological Opinion for Lease Sale 244 |
| May 22 | The Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision and the Final Notice of Sale for Cook Inlet OCS Oil and Gas Sale 244 both published in the Federal Register. (See May 18 item for details.) |
| May 19 | The Lease Sale 244 Final Notice of Sale appears in the Federal Register Reading Room. It will be published in the Federal Register itself on Monday, May 22. (See May 18 item for details.) |
| May 18 | The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced it will offer approximately 1.09 million acres off Alaska’s southcentral coast in a lease sale scheduled for June 21. Cook Inlet Oil & Gas Lease Sale 244 will offer 224 blocks toward the northern part of the federal Cook Inlet Planning Area for leasing. The blocks stretch roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south. The Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) and a copy of the Record of Decision (ROD) affirming the sale are available now. The FNOS and a Notice of Availability for the ROD will be posted tomorrow (Friday, May 19) in the Federal Register Reading Room; and published on Monday, May 22, in the Federal Register. Press Release
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| Feb 28 | A copy of the LS 244 Proposed Notice of Sale (see Feb. 24 item, below) is delivered to Alaska Governor Bill Walker, and a Notice of Availability is published in the Federal Register. This initiates a 60-day governor's review and comment period ending Monday, May 1, 2017. |
| Feb 24 | BOEM releases a Proposed Notice of Sale relating to Lease Sale 244. A Notice of Availability will publish in the Federal Register's Reading Room on Monday, Feb. 27. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Notice of Availability will appear in the Federal Register itself, and a copy of the Proposed Notice of Sale will be delivered to Alaska Governor Bill Walker. His receipt of this Proposed Notice will initiate a 60-day governor's review and comment period ending Monday, May 1. Press Release | Map - Lease Area | Map - Stipulation Blocks | Lease Stipulations | List of Available Blocks | Information to Lessees |
| 2016 | |
| Dec 22 | BOEM announces the availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the possible environmental impacts of oil and gas development in the federal submerged lands of Cook Inlet, off Alaska’s southcentral coast. The Notice of Availability of the EIS will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 23. Press Release Cook Inlet Planning Area Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244, In the Cook Inlet, Alaska - Final Environmental Impact Statement - Volume 1 | Volume 2 |
| Sep 6 | The public comment period closes for the Lease Sale 244 Draft EIS (see entry for July 22, below). |
| Jul 22 | The Notice of Availability for the Lease Sale 244 Draft EIS (referenced in the July 15 entry, below) is published in the Federal Register. This publication initiates a 45-day public comment period ending at midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016. During this time, comments may be submitted via regulations.gov (click the "Comment Now" button on the top right) or at a scheduled public hearing. The comments received will be used to inform preparation of the Final EIS. Schedule of public hearings:
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| Jul 21 | The Notice of Availability referenced below is made available in the Federal Register Reading Room. |
| Jul 15 | BOEM issues a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the possible environmental impacts of a potential oil and gas lease sale in Cook Inlet (Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale #244). A Notice of Availability for the draft document will appear in Federal Register Reading Room on Thursday, July 21; and in the Federal Register itself on Friday, July 22. The July 22 Federal Register publication will initiate a public comment period running from July 22 to midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, Sept. 6. During that time, BOEM's Alaska OCS Region will accept public comment via www.regulations.gov, and will hold public hearings in Anchorage, Homer and Kenai. The comments received will be used to inform preparation of the Final EIS. Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Press Release |
| 2014 | |
| Nov 11 | Schedule of scoping meetings:
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| Oct 23 | The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in support of a potential oil and gas lease sale in Cook Inlet, off Alaska’s south central coast. The Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS is now available via the Federal Register. This publication opens a public comment period extending through Monday, Dec. 8, 2014 (midnight EST). During this time, BOEM will hold public scoping meetings and accept comments through www.regulations.gov. |
| 2013 | |
| Nov 27 | BOEM issues Sale 244 Area Identification decision (map included). The area identified by the Bureau consists of 224 blocks toward the northern part of the inlet, and covers approximately 1.08 million acres of seafloor, stretching roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south. IMPORTANT: The Area ID does not indicate that a final decision has been made to hold the potential lease sale, or on its size. Prior to making these decisions, federal law requires that the bureau study the potential environmental impacts of oil and gas development in the area. Accordingly, this Area ID announcement will be followed by publication in the Federal Register of a "Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement," along with opportunities for public comment. The final decision on the size of the sale -- and whether to hold the sale at all -- will be based on these and other factors. |
| 2012 | |
| May 1 | Public comment period closes on Lease Sale 244 RFI. |
| Mar 27 | BOEM publishes the Request for Information (RFI) - Cook Inlet Oil & Gas Lease Sale 244 in the Federal Register. This initial request asks industry, the public, and key stakeholders about geologic, biological, archaeological, subsistence and/or socio-economic conditions that might bear on potential leasing and development decisions. The RFI does NOT indicate a decision to lease in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. BOEM will not make a decision about any potential lease sale before finalizing the 2012–2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, and determining whether there is adequate interest in holding this sale and conducting thorough environmental reviews. Map accompanying Lease Sale 244 RFI. |
| Mar 24 | Interior Department Invites Industry Interest in Potential Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. |