Oil and Gas Exploration Licensing Program 2019 Call for Proposals
The Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas (DOG), is calling for Exploration License Proposals during the month of April 2019.
Exploration licensing supplements the state’s oil and gas leasing program and encourages oil and gas exploration outside of the known oil and gas provinces in the Alaska Peninsula, Cook Inlet, Beaufort Sea, North Slope, and North Slope Foothills areas.
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The holder of an oil and gas exploration license has the exclusive right to explore an area between 10,000 acres and 500,000 acres for up to ten years.
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As opposed to up-front bonus payment in a competitive lease sale, a licensee must commit direct expenditures for exploration.
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A licensee only pays a one-time $1 per acre licensing fee with no annual rental payments.
- A licensee must provide all geological and geophysical data acquired by the licensee to the State.
Proposals for oil and gas exploration licenses can be submitted to the state during April of each year, as specified in 11 AAC 82.909. Land eligible for licensing is specified in AS 38.05.131.
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Applicants must submit proposals during the Call for Proposal period. Application forms are available on the DOG website.
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An exploration license is awarded if the proposal is found to be in the best interest of the state.
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If competing proposals are submitted for an area, the applicants must submit sealed bids.
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The successful bidder is determined by the highest bid in terms of the minimum work commitment dollar amount.
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Once the total work commitment is met, the licensee may convert all or a portion of the license area to oil and gas leases without going through a competitive bidding process.
Please contact the Division of Oil and Gas at dog.bif@alaska.gov, 907.269.8800, or visit our website for more information on the state’s oil and gas exploration licensing program.