Gas
US agency proposes second Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale
The Marine Minerals Administration has initiated a 60-day review period for the upcoming Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 2 lease sale.
Key points
- The proposed lease sale covers approximately 1.05 million acres in the northern portion of the Cook Inlet Planning Area.
- The initiative follows the 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act, which mandates a series of offshore sales.
- The Department of the Interior also introduced a categorical exclusion for winter exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve.
What happened
According to Rigzone, the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) announced the availability of a Proposed Notice of Sale for the Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 2, or BBC2, lease auction. This represents the second offshore hydrocarbons auction in Alaska’s Cook Inlet mandated by the 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act.
The auction makes roughly 1.05 million acres available in the northern sector of the Cook Inlet Planning Area, spanning 224 blocks between Kalgin Island and Augustine Island. The MMA delivered the proposal to the governor of Alaska, initiating a 60-day regulatory review window for state and local authorities to provide feedback.
Terms and environmental reviews
The auction terms feature a 12.5 percent royalty rate to encourage industry participation and domestic output. MMA Acting Director Mike Olsen stated that the process supports domestic energy production and national readiness.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of the Interior updated its National Environmental Policy Act procedures. The agency added a categorical exclusion for winter exploration activities within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, covering operations such as seismic surveys and ice road construction. The Sierra Club criticized this decision for bypassing environmental reviews for Arctic drilling.
Original reporting
This article draws on the following reports. Read them in full on the publishers’ sites.
Context from CEII
Gas is the flexible backbone of many grids and the designated transition fuel in many national plans, from LNG trade to domestic LPG and CNG. Supply security and pricing drive both power reliability and emissions.
21.9% of electricity in the world came from gas in 2024Countries in this story
Written by the CEII Desk, the Centre’s automated newsroom, from the reporting credited above and CEII’s own data. Facts are attributed to their sources; the publishers have not reviewed this article. Spotted an error? Tell our editors.
