[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39032-39035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15444]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska OCS Region, Cook Inlet
Planning Area, Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sale 211 for OCS Oil and Gas
Leasing Program for 2007-2012
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Request for Interest.
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SUMMARY: The OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012 identifies
two potential ``special-interest'' sales for the Cook Inlet Planning
Area in Alaska. The Cook Inlet area is a proven oil and gas province,
but past industry interest in the federal offshore area has been
limited.
The amount of oil and gas produced in Cook Inlet continues to
decline and with changing economic conditions there is renewed interest
in finding additional hydrocarbon resources for the South Central
Alaska.
This Request for Information (RFI) seeks to determine the level of
industry interest, whether it is focused on a few blocks or prospects
or if there is industry interest in a larger portion of the planning
area.
We are also seeking comments from tribal, local, State, and Federal
agencies, and the general public to evaluate whether MMS should proceed
with further evaluations pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act (OCSLA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)
and all other applicable laws and regulations. We will consider the
level of industry interest and other issues and concerns reflected in
comments in our determination on how to proceed. The decision to
proceed with further evaluation of this special interest sale or to
issue another RFI in 2009 will be made after consideration of the
comments received and the indication of industry interest in response
to this RFI. This RFI does not indicate a preliminary decision to lease
in the Program Area.
DATES: Responses to the RFI on proposed Cook Inlet Sale 211 must be
received no later than October 6, 2008. Submittals should be labeled
``Comments on Proposed Special-Interest Sale 211.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Dr. Cleve Cowles,
Regional Supervisor, Office of Leasing and Environment, Minerals
Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite
500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5820, phone (907) 334-5233, regarding
questions on the RFI for this special interest sale.
Request for 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 256); and in accordance with the 5-Year OCS Oil and
Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012.
2. Purpose of RFI: This RFI seeks to determine the level of
industry interest; whether it is focused on a few blocks or prospects;
or if there is industry interest in a larger portion of the planning
area. We are also seeking comments from tribal, local, State, and
Federal agencies
[[Page 39033]]
and the general public to evaluate whether MMS should proceed with
further evaluations pursuant to the OCSLA, NEPA, ESA, Coastal Zone
Management Act (CZMA) and all other applicable laws and regulations.
This information-gathering step is important for ensuring that all
pertinent information is provided in response to this RFI so it can be
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 256 or whether MMS should reissue another
RFI in 2009. A ``special-interest'' leasing option allows MMS to
consider for further evaluation a very focused (or larger) area of the
Cook Inlet Program Area. If companies are interested, they should
identify the specific blocks of interest to MMS in writing to the
Regional Supervisor, Office of Leasing and Environment, ATTN: Cook
Inlet RFI, Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 3801
Centerpoint Drive, Ste. 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823. If companies
believe a larger area should be considered, they should explicitly
explain their interest, including a summary of the geologic and
economic information about the larger area. This letter of interest may
include maps, and should include a company contact name, address, and
phone number(s) if MMS needs additional information or clarification.
As part of this information gathering request, we are also seeking
comments and supporting information from tribal, local, State, and
Federal agencies and the general public to determine whether MMS should
consider any further evaluation of a focused area or larger portion of
the Cook Inlet Program Area pursuant to the OCSLA and other applicable
laws and regulations. After the 90-day RFI comment period closes, MMS
will decide whether to continue the process after considering the
comments received. If industry interest reflected in comments to the
RFI does not support further evaluation at this time a RFI will be
issued again in 2009 and yearly thereafter through the 5-year schedule
until a sale is held or the 5-year schedule expires. 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, MMS may
recommend to the Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management
(ASLM) whether the sale process should be continued as well as the size
of the area to be considered for further evaluation (Area
Identification). Following Area Identification, the Alaska OCS Region
will prepare the appropriate NEPA analysis of potential environmental
effects of oil and gas exploration, development, and production in the
proposed sale area and its vicinity.
3. Background and Description of the Area: Four Federal sales have
been held in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. In October 1977, Sale CI
resulted in 88 leases being issued. In September 1981, Sale 60 resulted
in 13 leases being issued. A reoffering 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. In June
2002, the Department of the Interior issued the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing
Program for 2002-2007. Two Cook Inlet Sales, 191 and 199, were
included. The EIS for Sales 191 and 199 was issued in December 2002,
and all other pre-sale steps completed by early 2004. The sale was
scheduled for May 2004. However, no bids were submitted for Sale 191.
The MMS issued other solicitations to determine industry interest in
Cook Inlet, but company interest remained low. Lease Sale 199 was
canceled.
Over the years, there have been 13 exploratory wells drilled on
Federal leases in Cook Inlet and all have been permanently plugged and
abandoned. Two leases from Sale 149 (part of the Cosmopolitan Unit) are
under suspension of operations. Exploration activities for the unit are
occurring from onshore. The Alaska OCS Region document ``Undiscovered
Oil and Gas Resources, Alaska Federal Offshore, December 2006 Update''
estimates the mean undiscovered technically recoverable resources for
the planning area at 1.01 billion barrels of oil and condensate and 1.2
trillion cubic feet of gas. http://www.mms.gov/alaska/re/reports/2006Asmt/index.HTM.
The Cook Inlet Program 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 attached map). The Cook Inlet Program Area consists of
approximately 1,093 whole and partial blocks covering about 2.1 million
hectares (about 5.3 million acres). It extends offshore from 3 to
approximately 60 nautical miles in water depths from about 30 feet to
approximately 650 feet. A page-size map of the Program Area accompanies
this RFI. A large scale RFI map showing the boundaries of the Program
Area on a block-by-block basis is available on the MMS Web site at
http://www.mms.gov/alaska/cproject/cookinlet211/index.htm. Official
Protraction Diagrams numbers located in the Cook Inlet Planning Area
are identified on both the page-sized and large-scale Call maps
available for no charge at the Web site: http://www.mms.gov/ld/alaska.htm.
4. Instructions on RFI: Specific nominations demonstrating industry
interest are being sought regarding the oil and gas industry area(s) of
interest for potential exploration and development and production.
Comments on the RFI are requested concerning any environmental, social,
or economic information or issues commenters believe will assist the
MMS in making its decision.
Responses to this RFI must be received by October 6, 2008.
Submittals should indicate ``Responses to RFI for Proposed Cook Inlet
Special-Interest Lease Sale 211.'' The RFI Map nominations and specific
indications of interest, and/or comments must be submitted to the
Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment as noted below.
The RFI may be submitted by any one of the following methods:
Mail or hand-deliver comments to the Regional Supervisor,
Office of Leasing and Environment; ATTN: Cook Inlet RFI; Alaska OCS
Region, Minerals Management Service; 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500;
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823.
Submit comments by Internet through MMS Public Connect at
http://ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public/.
Fax comments to the Regional Supervisor, Office of Leasing
and Environment; Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service at
(907) 334-5242.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file, avoiding the use
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include
your name and return address in your Internet message. If you do not
receive a confirmation from the system that we have received your
Internet message, please contact us directly at 1-800-764-2627.
Company comments about specific levels of interest and/or specific
areas of interest will be considered proprietary and confidential
information, although the identities of those submitting nominations
become a matter of public record. To avoid inadvertent release of
proprietary information, please mark all documents ``Confidential--
Contains Proprietary Information'' on every page containing such
information. Respondents are requested to comment on the area of the
Federal boundaries of the Cook Inlet Planning Area.
Respondents should rank areas in which they have nominations
according
[[Page 39034]]
to priority of interest; for example, priority 1 (high) or 2 (medium)
on a large-sale RFI map available at http://www.mms.gov/cproject/cookinlet211/index.htm. 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. The 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.
Comments and information are sought 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 of the program area and
vicinity. Comments and information are also sought on possible
conflicts between future OCS oil and gas activities that may result
from the proposed sale and the standards of the Alaska Coastal
Management Program (CMP) and the enforceable policies of an approved
local district coastal management plan. These comments should identify
specific CMP policies of concern, the nature of the conflict foreseen,
and steps that MMS could take to avoid or mitigate the potential
conflict. Comments may be in terms of broad areas or restricted to
particular blocks or areas of concern. Those submitting comments and
information are requested to list block numbers or outline the subject
area on the RFI Map. Our practice is to make comments, including names
and addresses of respondents, available for public review during
regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that we
withhold their address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor
to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in
which we would withhold a respondent's identity, to the extent
allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name or address, you
must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However,
we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. Any
specific information submitted by industry about their interest will
remain proprietary when marked as such.
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 Program Area;
--Identify specific areas of interest for oil and/or gas exploration
and development;
--Identify potential environmental effects and potential use conflicts;
--Develop the appropriate level of environmental analysis needed if the
level of industry interest is such that MMS recommends proceeding with
the special-interest sale;
--Develop lease terms and conditions/mitigating measures; and
--Identify potential conflicts between oil and gas activities and the
Alaska CMP.
6. Existing Information: An extensive environmental, social, and
economic Studies Program has been underway in the Alaska OCS Region
since 1976, including studies in this 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. Environmental Impact
Statements were prepared for each of the OCS sales held in the Cook
Inlet Planning Area.
Information on the MMS Environmental Studies Program, completed
studies, and a program status report for continuing studies in this
area are available on the MMS Web site http://www.mms.gov/alaska/, or
may be obtained from the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, Alaska
OCS Region, by telephone request at (907) 334-5230, or by written
request to: Chief, Environmental Studies Section; ATTN: Cook Inlet RFI;
Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service; 3801 Centerpoint Drive,
Suite 500; Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823. A request may also be made via
the Alaska OCS Region Web site to [email protected].
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN08JY08.005
Dated: June 13, 2008.
Randall B. Luthi,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. E8-15444 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-C