BOEM calls for comments on possible Beaufort Sea lease sale
Offshore staff
ANCHORAGE, Alaska– The US’ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to support a potential 2019 oil and gas lease sale in the Beaufort Sea, off Alaska’s northern coast.
This will analyze the possible impact on the proposed area of leasing, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas.
The area identified includes the entire Beaufort Sea OCS planning area, and extends from the 3-nautical-mi limit of state of Alaska submerged lands northward to latitude 75° N on its west side, and to latitude 74° N on its east side.
It also stretches from longitude 156° W (roughly north of the village of Utqiaġvik) on the west to the Canadian maritime boundary on the east, a total area of around 65.1 million acres (26.3 million ha).
The notice of intent to Prepare an EIS was published last Friday in the Federal Register on Friday, with a 30-day public comment period now open until Dec. 17.
During this time, BOEM will hold public meetings and accept comments throughwww.regulations.gov.
It stressed that no final decision to hold a lease sale has been taken, and that information gathered during the public comment period will help determine whether the proposed sale goes ahead.
“We look forward to receiving thoughtful, substantive input on this EIS,” said Dr. James J. Kendall, director of BOEM’s Alaska Region.
“We especially need to hear from residents of the Beaufort Sea communities, letting us know how the proposed leasing area is currently being used and what specific areas need extra attention. To address these issues, we will use rigorous science together with traditional knowledge and other input we receive from this early step in the leasing process.”
The Department of the Interior’s 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program proposes lease sales in the Beaufort Sea in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
BOEM’s previous lease sale in the Beaufort Sea, in April 2007, resulted in the leasing of 90 blocks, and brought more than $42 million into the federal treasury.
11/20/2018