BLM Receives Final Payments for Alaska Bids

The Bureau of Land Management has received the final payments on high bids made by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc., Petro-Canada (Alaska) Inc., and FEX L.P. for tracts within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska during BLM's Sept. 2008 lease sale.

Petro-Hunt, L.L.C., also a participant in the lease sale has relinquished all its bids after notifying BLM in late December that falling oil prices made it uneconomical for it to pursue oil production at this time within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Petro-Hunt was the high bidder on 72 lease tracts (822,151 acres) for $13,730,603, but forfeited its deposit of $2,746,154.

Leases were issued to the following:
 

COMPANY                                                   LEASES        ACREAGE          TOTAL HIGH BIDS   

Each of the companies paid BLM the balance of the bid, annual rental and processing fee on their leases. The leases are for 10 years.

"The BLM is encouraged by the commitment of these companies to energy production in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska," said BLM-Alaska State Director Tom Lonnie.