US government agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it is moving forward with plans to lease more than a million acres for oil and gas development offshore Alaska.
Part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), BOEM says it has scheduled a June auction for 1.09m acres in Cook Inlet.
If it goes ahead the event will be designated Lease Sale 224 and will offer 224 blocks in what is the final stage of Interior’s 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
The blocks are located off Alaska’s south central coast stretching roughly from Kalgin Island to Augustine Island.
As per policy, BOEM has notified Alaska Governor Bill Walker of the plan and there will next be a 60-day review period in which the governor can receive comments from local governments.