BOEM to hold lease sale for oil and gas development in Alaska on Dec. 30

The U.S. Bureau of Energy Ocean Management (BOEM) announced this week that the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 258 will take place on Dec. 30.

BOEM will offer approximately 958,202 acres off Alaska’s southcentral coast near Cook inlet in a lease sale for oil and gas development.

The Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258 will offer 193 blocks toward the northern part of the Cook Inlet Planning Area for leasing. The blocks stretch roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south.

The Inflation Reduction Act directs BOEM to hold the Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258 by Dec. 31. 2022. That requirement was included in the Inflation Reduction Act by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“This announcement is a welcome step towards strengthening America’s energy security and realizing the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin said. “Investing in and utilizing the abundant natural resources in our federal lands and water will help ensure we have the energy we need to power our nation and support our allies. We included this provision in the Inflation Reduction Act to unlock and unleash American energy, and I am glad the Administration is following the law. The United States can produce energy cleaner than anywhere else in the world, and there has never been a more critical time to invest in American energy production. I look forward to the administration continuing to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s all-of-the-above energy approach that will help keep energy affordable and reliable for all Americans.”

A link to the livestream will be posted to the BOEM website at 9 a.m. Alaska Time on Dec. 30. The reading of the bids will begin at 10 a.m. Alaska Time.