Happy Thursday! It was a nice sunny cool day! It was nice to get out, after the last few frigid and icy days! Everything is melting nicely and giving the grass and foliage a good needed watering!
We always enjoy a follow-up
story! We blogged about the about Department
of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) having completed their Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and their draft of the Final
EIS for the Alaska’s Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) back in
November, and we continued the blog with the BLM’s announcing a date of the
lease sale and published a Final EIS back in December. Well, the results of the lease sale have been
released, and it didn’t do well!
Did anyone
happen to read the Oil & Gas Journal’s Daily Update Newsletter on January
20, 2025, their article titled, “US government’s ANWR lease sale a bust; no
companies bid for tracts”? In the
article, it speaks on U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) had 400,000 acres of the northwest part of the coastal plain
of Alaska’s ANWR up for its lease sale which closed January 9, 2025, and they
had no bids. The last sale was four
years ago, and it had minimal interest (nine bids) and they were canceled by the
company or the DOI for one reason or another.
There are thoughts as to why the two lease sales didn’t bring in the anticipated
$2 billion in revenue expected from the leases and royalties. One being companies have acreage of leases
they haven’t explored on. Another is the
cost of exploration in the region and transporting the oil and gas to export. Another possible reason is the environmentalists
and indigenous people of Alaska view the area as hallowed grounds and protected
area for wildlife and has impeded progress in previously. The US Geological Survey believe the ANWR
potentially holds 4.3 to 11.8 billion barrels of oil. The current administration plans on opening more
of the area up for exploration. Well, we will know soon enough what plans and what
reversals will happen for the area. We
will try and keep our eyes open on what’s next for the ANWR. If you would like to read more of the Oil
& Gas Journal’s article, please click the link: US
government’s ANWR lease sale a bust; no companies bid for tracts | Oil &
Gas Journal.
Don’t forget to check out
our ESC website or
contact us via the email in the Blog, if you have a hydrocarbon liquids
project you would like to see get off the ground or you would like to see
what’s under your feet to help with your emissions!
We hope you have a wonderful evening! Keep warm!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The Oil
and Gas Journal’s article. **