Begich Welcomes Fourth Round of NPR-A Oil & Gas Lease Sales

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mark Begich described today's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announcement of another round of oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) as a "positive step for resource development in Alaska" but called for resolution of litigation in order to keep development on track.

"Production of oil in the NPR-A is crucial for Alaska's economic future and is essential for meeting out nation's energy needs. That's why I've been fighting to streamline the permitting process, resolve ongoing litigation, and keep development at CD-5 and GMT-1 moving forward," said Begich. "Alaskans are excited about production so that we can, for the first time, begin to produce oil and gas from federal lands in the NPR-A."

So far only exploratory drilling has occurred within the NPR-A. ConocoPhillips has spent $450 million to date to bring CD-5 online by end of 2015. And will invest similar amounts for GMT-1.

According to BLM, the lease sale includes 270 tracts that cover about 3 million acres. It is the fourth lease sale since the President directed the Secretary of the Interior in 2011 to conduct annual oil and gas lease sales in the NPR-A. The lease sale announced today will be held on Wednesday, November 19, in Anchorage.

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