At the state’s annual Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula lease sales three parcels were bid on in the Alaska Peninsula, the first bids for that region since 2007.
Division of Oil and Gas Director Bill Barron said that it was a surprise to open those bids.
Barron: “And I thought that’s also a good news story at least in terms of the industry itself is looking at all the assets that the state has and saying that there might be exploration potential in an area that’s never really been looked at so another growth opportunity for the state and for that region.”
Although the majority of Cook Inlet bids that totaled almost $5.4 million came from already established companies, Barron said the $54,100 in bids on the Alaska Peninsula were from two small companies: Auxullium Alaska Inc. and Novus Terra Ltd.
He explained the process if their bids are accepted.
Barron: “At this juncture if we determine through the adjucation process that we can issue those leases to them they’ll have ten years to do whatever exploration, either seismic programs or submit plans of operations for drilling operations for exploration to conduct their activities in that area.”