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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18260-18263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7337]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska OCS Region, Cook Inlet 
Planning Area, Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244 for OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program 2012-2017

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Request for Interest (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 
(Proposed Program) identifies Sale 244 as a potential special interest 
sale for the Cook Inlet Planning Area in Alaska. While industry 
interest in the Federal OCS offshore area has been limited in the past 
decade, recently there has been renewed interest in exploring for and 
developing additional hydrocarbon resources in the south-central region 
of the state, as evidenced by acreage leased in state sales and 
announced discoveries of natural gas on state-managed lands, both 
offshore and onshore.
    This RFI seeks to determine the level of industry interest in a 
possible Sale 244 in 2013 in the Cook Inlet Planning Area, whether 
focused on a few blocks or prospects, or on a larger portion of the 
program area.
    BOEM is also seeking comments from tribal, local, and state 
governments, Federal agencies, and the general public to evaluate 
whether the agency should proceed with further evaluations pursuant to 
the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA), the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and all other applicable laws 
and regulations. BOEM will consider the level of industry interest and 
other issues and concerns reflected in comments in its determination on 
how to proceed. BOEM will then decide on whether to proceed with 
further evaluation of this special interest sale. This RFI does not 
indicate a decision to include Sale 244 in the Proposed Final OCS Oil 
and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Final Program) or to lease in 
the Cook Inlet Planning Area.

DATES: All responses to the RFI on proposed Cook Inlet Sale 244 must be 
received no later than May 11, 2012. Written nomination submittals 
should be labeled ``Comments on Proposed Special Interest Sale 244.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred King, Chief, Leasing Section, 
Leasing and Plans, BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, 
Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823, or at (907) 334-5271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Interest and Information

    1. Authority: This RFI is published pursuant to the OCSLA, as 
amended (43 U.S.C. 1331-1356 (1994)) and the regulations issued 
thereunder (30 CFR Part 556) and in accordance with the Proposed 
Program.
    Due to the long lead time necessary to prepare for a sale, this RFI 
is being published before a final decision is made later in 2012 on 
which sales will be included in the Final Program. This proposed sale 
was included in the Proposed Program with a sale date tentatively 
scheduled for late 2013. If the Final Program includes proposed Cook 
Inlet Sale 244, BOEM will continue to prepare for the sale, and the 
final decision to hold or cancel the sale will likely be made in late 
2013 as part

[[Page 18261]]

of the sale preparation process. If the Final Program does not include 
this sale, then BOEM will terminate preparations for the sale.
    2. Purpose of RFI: This RFI seeks to determine the level of 
industry interest and whether that interest, if any, is focused on a 
few blocks or prospects or on a larger portion of the program area. 
BOEM is also seeking comments from tribal, local, and state 
governments, Federal agencies, and the general public to determine 
whether BOEM should proceed with further evaluations pursuant to the 
OCSLA, NEPA, ESA, and other applicable laws and regulations.
    This information-gathering step is important to ensure that all 
pertinent information is assessed in determining whether to proceed 
with further evaluation of the special interest leasing process 
pursuant to the OCSLA and regulations at 30 CFR Part 556. A special 
interest leasing option allows BOEM to consider for further evaluation 
a very focused or larger area of the Cook Inlet Planning Area, 
depending on interest. This RFI does not indicate a decision to include 
Sale 244 in the Final Program or to lease in the Cook Inlet area 
described below.
    After the 45-day RFI comment period closes, BOEM will decide 
whether to continue the process after consideration of the nomination 
information and comments received. If industry response to this RFI 
does not indicate sufficient interest at this time, then preparations 
for Sale 244 will not proceed. BOEM may issue another RFI subsequently 
to gauge industry interest in a potential lease sale in the Cook Inlet 
Planning Area later in the Proposed Program.
    If sufficient industry interest is received during the RFI process, 
including nominations of specific blocks in response to the RFI, and 
after reviewing and considering the other information provided, BOEM 
may recommend to the Assistant Secretary--Land and Minerals Management, 
that the sale process should continue, as well as the size of the area 
to be considered for further evaluation in the process referred to as 
Area Identification. Following Area Identification, the BOEM Alaska 
Region will prepare the appropriate NEPA analysis of potential 
environmental effects of oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, 
and production in the proposed sale area and its vicinity. After the 
completion of the NEPA process and consultation with the Governor of 
Alaska, if BOEM determines that leasing and potential exploration can 
occur in an environmentally safe manner, then BOEM may proceed with the 
leasing process for a competitive sale in the general area of interest.
    Sale 244 is tentatively scheduled for late 2013 under the Proposed 
Program. BOEM is starting the RFI process now to allow sufficient time 
to complete all of the steps in the presale process to hold a sale in 
2013, in the event that the decision is made to proceed with a 
potential lease sale in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. As explained 
above, issuance of this RFI does not indicate a decision to lease in 
the Cook Inlet Planning Area.
    3. Background and Description of the Area: Five Federal OCS sales 
have been held in the Cook Inlet Planning Area within the past 34 
years. In October 1977, Sale CI resulted in 88 leases being issued. In 
September 1981, Sale 60 resulted in 13 leases being issued. A re-
offering sale, Sale RS-2, was held in August 1982, but no bids were 
received and no leases resulted from this sale. Sale 149, held in June 
1997, resulted in 2 leases issued. Sale 191 was held in May 2004, and 
no bids were submitted. Two special interest Cook Inlet Sales, 211 and 
219, were scheduled under the 2007-2012 Program. On July 8, 2008, the 
Minerals Management Service (now BOEM) issued a RFI for Cook Inlet Sale 
211. The comment period closed October 6, 2008. MMS received three 
comments, but no industry nominations identifying specific leasing 
interest. In 2008, MMS decided not to proceed with the Sale 211 presale 
process. On March 2, 2011, the decision to cancel Sale 219 was 
published in the Federal Register. Between 1978 and 1985, a total of 13 
exploratory wells were drilled on Federal leases in the Cook Inlet 
Planning Area, all have been permanently plugged and abandoned. The 
State of Alaska currently has active oil and gas leases with two drill 
operations preparing for the 2012 drill season. Companies have 
purchased leases offshore at the State-held Cook Inlet Sale in June 
2011. The most recent State oil and gas lease sale held in December 
2011 included 575,202 acres. There are currently no active Federal OCS 
leases in Cook Inlet.
    The BOEM document ``Assessment of Undiscovered Technically 
Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation's Outer Continental 
Shelf, 2011'' estimates the mean undiscovered conventionally 
recoverable resources for the Cook Inlet Planning Area at 1.01 billion 
barrels of oil and 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas (http://www.boem.gov/uploadedFiles/2011_National_Assessment_Factsheet.pdf ).
    The Cook Inlet Planning Area is located offshore the State of 
Alaska just south of Kalgin Island and the Barren Islands and continues 
south through Shelikof Strait to just above the southern tip of Kodiak 
Island (see map below). The Cook Inlet Planning Area consists of 
approximately 1,093 whole and partial blocks covering about 2.1 million 
hectares (about 5.3 million acres). It extends from 3 to approximately 
60 nautical miles offshore, in water depths from about 30 feet to 
approximately 650 feet. A map of the Cook Inlet Planning Area 
accompanies this RFI. A large-scale RFI map showing the boundaries of 
the Cook Inlet Planning Area on a block-by-block basis is available on 
the BOEM Web site at http://www.boem.gov/aksale244.
    4. Instructions on RFI: If a company is interested in potentially 
acquiring oil and gas leases in the Cook Inlet Planning Area, it should 
send specific written nomination information to: Chief, Leasing 
Section, BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823. Written nominations must be received by 
May 11, 2012. The written information from industry nominating specific 
blocks, which BOEM considers proprietary, will not be released to the 
public. If a company believes that a larger area should be considered, 
it should explicitly describe its interest, including a summary of the 
geologic and economic information about that larger area. To avoid 
inadvertent release of proprietary information, please mark all 
documents ``Confidential--Contains Proprietary Information'' on every 
page containing such information. This written letter of nomination may 
include maps, and should include a company contact name, address, and 
phone number(s) that BOEM can use if it needs additional information or 
clarification. Submittals should indicate ``Responses to RFI for 
Proposed Cook Inlet Special Interest Lease Sale 244.''
    Respondents should rank areas they have nominated according to 
priority of interest; for example, priority 1 (high), 2 (medium), and/
or 3 (low) on a large-sale RFI map available at http://www.boem.gov/aksale244. Respondents are encouraged to be specific in indicating 
blocks by priority and be prepared to discuss their range of interest 
and activity regarding the nominated area(s). Please provide the 
telephone number and name of a person to contact in the organization's 
response. BOEM's Alaska OCS Regional office may contact this person to 
set up a mutually agreeable meeting to more fully review the company's 
level of interest.

[[Page 18262]]

    BOEM is seeking comments and information from all interested 
parties about particular geological (including natural hazard areas), 
environmental, biological, archaeological, and socioeconomic conditions 
or potential conflicts, or other information that might bear upon the 
potential leasing, exploration, and development in the program area and 
its vicinity. Except for written letters of nomination, all other 
comments to the RFI, including general information from companies, 
federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes and other 
interested parties and individuals will be accepted only through http://www.regulations.gov, using docket designation: BOEM-2012-0017. All 
comments received via regulations.gov, including names and addresses of 
respondents, are public and will be posted for public review on 
regulations.gov.
    BOEM will not consider anonymous comments. BOEM will make available 
in their entirety on regulations.gov all non-proprietary submissions 
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses. All written nomination information submitted by industry 
about their interest will remain proprietary and will not be released.
    5. Use of RFI Information: Information submitted in response to 
this RFI will be used for several purposes. Responses will be used to:
--Determine whether to proceed with the leasing process for a special-
interest oil and gas lease sale in the Cook Inlet Planning Area;
--Identify specific areas of interest for oil and/or gas leasing, 
exploration, and development;
--Identify potential environmental effects and potential use conflicts;
--Develop the appropriate level of environmental analysis, if the level 
of industry interest is such that BOEM recommends proceeding with the 
special interest sale process;
--Develop lease terms, conditions, and mitigating measures.
    6. Existing Information: An extensive environmental, social, and 
economic Studies Program has been underway in the Alaska OCS Region 
since 1976, including studies in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. The 
emphasis has been on environmental characterization of biologically 
sensitive habitats, endangered whales and marine mammals, physical 
oceanography, ocean-circulation modeling, subsistence uses, and 
ecological and socio-cultural effects of oil and gas activities. NEPA 
analyses were prepared for the previous OCS sales held in the Cook 
Inlet Planning Area.
    Information on the BOEM Environmental Studies Program, completed 
studies, and a program status report for continuing studies in this 
area is available on the BOEM Web site http://www.boem.gov/akstudies, 
or may be obtained from the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, 
Alaska OCS Region, by telephone request at (907) 334-5283.

    Dated: March 6, 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P

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[FR Doc. 2012-7337 Filed 3-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P
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