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Oil & Gas Chair Hails Offshore Lease Sales
New Five-Year OCS Offering Includes Eight Tracts in Alaska

(PALMER) - Rep. Scott Ogan (R-Palmer), chair of the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas, today welcomed the news that the federal government plans to offer eight lease sales in Alaska offshore areas in its newest nationwide five-year outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing plan.

The Minerals Management Service has announced three proposed lease sales in the Beaufort Sea, two in Cook Inlet, two in the Chukchi Sea/Hope Basin and one in Norton Sound from 2002 to 2007, Ogan said. MMS manages leasing and revenue collection from the federally controlled outer continental shelf.

"The federal government estimates that the tracts in this lease offering contain up to 10 billion barrels of oil, and significant amounts of natural gas," Ogan said. "Discoveries of new oil and gas deposits in Alaska's offshore areas can stabilize oil production, help preserve our nation's energy independence, bring needed revenue to Alaska, and provide good jobs for Alaskans."

Ogan noted several details of the proposed sale areas:

• Beaufort Sea: The proposed sale area contains from 1.6 billion to 2.8 billion barrels of oil. Strong industry interest, and a record of production make this one of the most prospective areas for economic development. Sensitive whale feeding grounds are off-limits to leasing at state request.
  
  
• Cook Inlet: The area contains from 420 million to 500 million barrels and from 560 billion to 860 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas. Unocal Corp.'s recent announcement of a new discovery in the old McArthur River field, coupled with Forest Oil's recent drilling at Redoubt Shoal should generate additional interest in the Cook Inlet offerings.
  
  
• Chukchi Sea/Hope Basin: The area contains a combined estimated 1 billion to 7 billion barrels of oil. Exploration to date has yielded significant discoveries, which would become economically viable with construction of a natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48.
  
  
• Norton Sound: The available estimated 20 million to 30 million barrels of oil and up to 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas is intended to make energy resources available for local villages and industry.

"Alaska's oil and gas resources remain a critical part of the nation's energy strategy for the 21st century," Ogan said. "These lease sales reflect the nation's understanding that Alaskans can deliver the energy America needs while protecting the environment Americans value."

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