see new bidders and competition in this latest lease sale, especially as so many highly prospective areas are al- ready under lease and being actively explored.” “We need to do everything in our power to support these newly leased areas becoming exploration pros- pects, future discoveries, and poten- tial development opportunities that will support Alaskans for generations to come.” already under lease and being actively explored.” — Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle “It is extremely promising to see new bidders and competition in this latest lease sale, especially as so many highly prospective areas are
Alaska LLC, two companies that al - ready have a significant stake on the North Slope, won additional leases, the oil and gas division said. Lagniappe Alaska is a subsidiary of Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas, an experienced North Slope explorer now working in the eastern North Slope onshore. Savant owns the small producing Badami oil field near the Beaufort Sea coast east of Prudhoe Bay. Another Alaska company, Capti- vate Energy Alaska Inc, expanded its acreage and a new entrant, Surprise Valley Resources LLC won a signifi - cant block of new leases. The North Slope Foothills sale area also saw its first bid in a decade, on state lands in the western end of the area beyond Umiat, a base camp in the far southeast boundary of the federal National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. A small oil discovery was made at Umiat in the 1950s in exploration led by the U.S., which administered the reserve prior to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management assuming man - agement in 1976. In a statement, Alaska’s Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle said, “It is extremely promising to
Slope near existing large producing fields along with the Alaska Beau - fort Sea submerged lands out to the state’s 3-mile territorial limit, as well as the “foothills” area near the Brooks Range in the southern North Slope. Most bids in the state’s annu- al sales come in the onshore central North Slope because there is exten- sive knowledge of the regional geol- ogy and because of the proximity of infrastructure and oil field services. The Trans Alaska Pipeline Sys- tem’s Pump Station One is in this area as well as the Deadhorse indus- trial support center, which is adja- cent to the producing Prudhoe Bay oil field. The Beaufort Sea areawide sale, which is in a higher-cost offshore area where there are environmental challenges, saw competitive bidding in Harrison Bay between EE Partners Corporation, which holds existing leases in the area, and Juneau Oil & Gas LLC, a new entrant into Alaska. Harrison Bay is a shallow-water area on state submerged lands just north of the producing Alpine oil field, which is onshore. Savant Alaska LLC and Lagniappe
— Tim Bradner
Modest bids offered for North Slope leases Shutterstock Photo Most bids in the state’s annual lease sales come in the onshore central North Slope because of the proximity of infrastructure and oil field services.
lished results Dec. 11 for the 2024 sales, which included three regional lease sale areas — the Beaufort Sea, central North Slope onshore, and the North Slope Foothills area south of the major producing fields. Bids showed continued interest by explorers in areas they were working, such as the eastern North Slope, but also new interest in state submerged lands in Harrison Bay, which is north of the producing Alpine field.
The combined sale earned an es- timated $10.9 million in cash bonus for the State of Alaska, the highest amount since the fall 2018 sales, the division said in an announcement. The state received bids for more than 184,000 acres from seven bidders across all lease sale areas. Alaska holds three “areawide” lease sales on the North Slope annu- ally in the fall in which all unleased state lands in the onshore central
Almost $11M goes to state, highest figure since 2018 The state’s North Slope “areaw- ide” lease sales showed modest re- sults this year. The annual auctions of non-leased lands are held in late fall. The Division of Oil and Gas pub-
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