Offshore staff
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The MMS will hold its first Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea since 1991 on Feb. 6, 2008.
The Chukchi Sea Sale 193 area contains about 29.7 million acres offshore Alaska from north of Point Barrow to northwest of Cape Lisburne. The sale area extends from about 25 or 50 to 200 mi (40 or 80 – 322 km) offshore. It will not include near-shore waters ranging from about 25 to 50 mi (40 – 80 km) from the coast to protect local marine wildlife.
MMS estimates that the Chukchi Sea area could contain 15 Bbbl of oil (mean estimate of conventionally recoverable resources).
Two sales have been held in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area previously. Sale 109 was held in 1988 with 351 leases issued, and Sale 126 in 1991 with 28 leases issued. All of those leases have expired.
01/04/2008
