Lease Sale 258 | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

The reviews for fair-market value and anti-trust considerations (see entry for Dec. 30, 2022, below) have been completed. Hilcorp Alaska LLC is awarded one lease for its bid placed during Lease Sale 258. The lease sale process is now concluded.

2022
Nov 29
The Final Notice of Sale and a Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision for Lease Sale 258 (see entry for Nov. 28, below) are published in the Federal Register.
Oct 28
A Notice of Availability for the Lease Sale 258 Final Environmental Impact Statement (see entry for Oct. 20, below) is published in the Federal Register.
Sep 23

A Notice of Availability for the Proposed Notice of Sale listed below (see entry for Sept. 21, 2022) is published in the Federal Register.

Aug 16

President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which directs BOEM to hold the Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258 by December 31, 2022.

May 11
The Department of the Interior announced it will not move forward with Lease Sale 258 in the Alaska Region’s Cook Inlet due to lack of industry interest in leasing in the area. This sale was included in the 2017-2022 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
2021
Dec 13
Comment period closes. Comments received during the comment period will be used to inform preparation of the final EIS.
Oct 29

A Notice of Availability for the draft Environmental Impact Statement referenced below (see entry for Oct. 22) is published in the Federal Register. This publication initiates a 45-day comment period ending at 11:59pm ET on Monday, Dec. 13. During that time, comments may be submitted in two ways:

1. At any time until the close of the comment period, written comments may be submitted. Simply go to Regulations.gov, the U.S. Government’s official commenting portal, and click on the button on the upper left titled “Comment.”
    

2. Oral comments may be submitted via any of three virtual public hearings, scheduled for the following dates (all times Alaska time):

• Tue, Nov. 16 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm
• Wed, Nov. 17 – 2pm to 4pm
• Thu, Nov. 18 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Comments received, whether via regulations.gov or through a virtual public hearing, will be used to inform preparation of the final EIS.

Oct 22

BOEM publishes a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the potential environmental impacts of proposed Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258.

A Notice of Availability for the draft EIS will be published in in the Federal Register on Friday, Oct. 29. The Oct. 29 publication will initiate a public comment period open through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Dec. 13. During the comment period, any interested party may submit comment on the draft EIS through regulations.gov, the federal government’s official commenting portal. A link to the regulations.gov commenting docket will appear on this page when the comment period opens.

In addition, BOEM will host three virtual public hearings during the comment period.

Schedule of Public Hearings

• Nov. 16 (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.)
• Nov. 17 (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
• Nov. 18 (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.)

During the public hearings, any interested party may submit testimony and have it become part of the public record. A registration link for the public hearings will be posted to this page beginning Oct. 29.

Comments received, whether via regulations.gov or through a virtual public hearing, will be used to inform preparation of the final EIS.

• Executive Summary
• Public Hearing Presentation
• Draft Environmental Impact Statement
• Exploration and Development Scenario
• Oil Spill Risk Analysis
• Press Release: BOEM Publishes Draft EIS for Proposed Cook Inlet Lease Sale

Aug 24

Department of the Interior outlines next steps in leasing program.

Jun 15

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issues a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the Biden administration from implementing a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters.

Mar 24

Thirteen states file suit (Louisiana v. Biden) in federal court challenging actions taken pursuant to President Biden’s Executive Order 14008.

Feb 23

A notice formally withdrawing the public review period for Lease Sale 258 appears in the Federal Register.

Jan 27

President Biden issues Executive Order 14008 (“Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”), directing federal agencies to “pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices.”

Jan 13

BOEM publishes an Area Identification Decision and announces the availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement. The bureau will publish separate Notices of Availability for both documents in the Federal Register’s Reading Room tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 14); and in the Federal Register itself Friday, Jan. 15.

The Jan. 15 publications will initiate a 45-day public comment period on the draft EIS, which will close Monday, March 1. During this time, BOEM will provide more information, supporting documents and instructions for commenting via the Virtual Meeting Room linked below.

Virtual meetings, accessible via the same URL, will be held on the following dates (all times Alaska Time):

Feb. 9 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Feb. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• Press Release
• Virtual Meeting Room
• Area Identification Map
• Notice of Availability: Area Identification Decision
• Notice of Availability: Draft EIS