$53.9 million in NPR-A bids offered

By MATT VOLZ

Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE--Five oil companies bid Wednesday for the right to develop 1.4 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, in the largest onshore federal lease sale in state history.

The high bids totaled $53.9 million and covered 123 individual tracts. The highest bid for a single tract was $13.74 million, made by Fortuna Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Calgary, Alberta-based Talisman Energy Inc.

The land, more than 5 million acres in the northwest region of the NPR-A, is remote and without infrastructure. It could take more than a decade to explore and develop, said officials with the federal Bureau of Land Management.

"The energy resources of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska are essential to meeting our nation's energy demands," said Henri Bisson, BLM's Alaska director. "These resources will enhance domestic energy production in the future and decrease dependence on foreign oil sources."