First of six new Cook Inlet oil and gas leases opens for bids

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The first of six new oil and gas leases in the Cook Inlet opened for bids Friday morning, announced by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The sale is the first in the Cook Inlet in four years, and one of the first of BOEM’s nationwide offshore drilling program. The program was authorized under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last July.

“Regular and predictable federal leasing is the minimum standard for maintaining domestic energy production,” said BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona in a press release. “Energy security is national security, and this sale reflects a clear, congressionally mandated path forward for Cook Inlet leasing.”

The lease will include a 10-year primary term, a minimum bonus bid of $25 per hectare and a 12.5% royalty rate. Sealed bids must be received by 10 a.m. March 3. BOEM will open and publicly announce bids on a livestream the next day.

The complete lease sale package, including a list of blocks available for bid, an area map and instructions for accessing the livestream are available on the BOEM website.

Several groups have already voiced opposition to the sale, saying the risk of spills and contamination place the environment at risk.

“The federal government is required to protect our oceans and the fish and wildlife that call them home, but Trump is ignoring that responsibility.” read a statement from Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “From critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas to salmon and razor clams, this sale puts so many species in the crosshairs of a devastating oil spill.”

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