The Trump administration announced Friday that it's moving ahead with plans to offer 1.1 million acres for lease in Alaska's Cook Inlet on June 21, though it's unclear whether a lease sale, if it's ultimately held, will generate much interest in the aging oil and gas basin.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a statement that the lease sale, for 224 blocks in federal waters in what is generally southern Cook Inlet, more than 3 miles off the coast, remains a proposal.
However, the notice issued Friday pushes the proposed sale forward "following a robust environmental analysis," said Walter Cruickshank, BOEM's acting director.
The notice will lead to a 60-day period for Gov. Bill Walker to receive comments from local governments and submit recommendations on the size, timing and location of the sale, the federal agency said.
The proposed sale has been in the works for years, dividing conservation and industry groups. A decision by the Obama administration in November canceling lease sales in the Arctic Ocean through 2022 generated uncertainty whether the Cook Inlet lease sale in Southcentral Alaska would be held.
[Coal, oil and gas firms will pay less in royalties after Interior Department decision]
Also uncertain is whether industry will continue to express interest in the sale, following an oil price slump that began in mid-2014, leading to widespread cutbacks in Alaska.
Since receiving no bids for a lease sale in 2004, the agency has canceled three lease sales proposed for Cook Inlet following a lack of industry interest. BOEM has said it received interest in this proposed lease sale from more than one company but that was five years ago.
The agency plans to offer 224 blocks, each about 9 square miles, roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south.
"We look forward to hearing Gov. Walker's comments and recommendations as we continue to balance environmental considerations with careful development," said Cruickshank.