Bering Sea summary report: Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities in the Bering Sea and their onshore impacts
Two federal offshore oil-and-gas lease sales have been held in the Bering Sea Subregion. Lease Sale 57, Norton Basin, was held on March 15, 1983. Lease Sale 70, St. George Basin, was held on April 12, 1983. The sale offered 479 tracts, of which 97 received bids. The Department of the Interior has indicated that it will accept 96 of the 97 high bids; however, to date, leases have not been awarded. The Department of the Interior was enjoined from issuing leases by the US District Court of Alaska because of possible impacts from postlease preliminary seismic activities on gray and right whales. In accordance with the Court's ruling, leases cannot be issued until the completion of a supplemental environmental impact statement, which is anticipated to occur in November 1983. Six lease offerings in the Bering Sea Subregion are scheduled through 1987. Six deep stratigraphic test wells are the only wells drilled to date in the Bering Sea Subregion. To date, oil companies have not submitted exploration plans for the Norton Basin Planning Area. Exploration in Norton Basin could begin in the summer of 1984, at the earliest. Exploration plans cannot be submitted for the St. George Basin Planning Area until the leases are awarded. At this time, various onshore areas are being considered as possible support bases for offshore oil-and-gas exploration. At this stage, before exploratory drilling has occurred and in the absence of a commercial discovery, plans for transporting petroleum from the Bering Sea to markets in the United States are unclear. The current estimates of risked resources for lands leased in Lease Sale 57, Norton Basin, are 33 million barrels of oil and 110 billion cubic feet of gas. Lease Sale 70, St. George Basin, estimates of risked resources for leased lands are 27 million barrels of oil and 310 billion cubic feet of gas. 55 references, 10 figures, 3 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Rogers, Golden and Halpern, Inc., Philadelphia, PA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6986473
- Report Number(s):
- NP-4900949; ON: TI84900949
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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BERING SEA
DATA
DRILLING
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLORATION
EXPLORATORY WELLS
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INFORMATION
LEASING
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NUMERICAL DATA
PACIFIC OCEAN
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVES
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
WELL DRILLING
WELLS