On 5 November 2019, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will hold an oil and gas lease sale bid opening for 350 tracts covering about 3.98 million ac (16,106 sq km) in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The sale will be held on 11 December 2019 at 10:00 a.m. AKST and will be livestreamed at blm.gov/live. Bids must be received by 4:00 p.m. AKST on 9 December 2019 at BLM Alaska State Office, ATTN: Carol Taylor (AK932), 222 West 7th Avenue #13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504.  Last year's lease sale held on 12 December 2018 included 254 tracts covering about 2.85 million ac (11,545 sq km). Bids were received on 16 tracts covering 174,044 ac (69 sq km). ConocoPhillips, Emerald House and Nordaq submitted the bids totaling over USD 1.53 million. ConocoPhillips has been the most active company in leasing over the last few years as it sought to expand its holdings following the recent Nanushuk trend oil discoveries made in the region.  According to BLM Alaska State Director Chad Padgett, "We are working on a new Integrated Activity Plan for the NPR-A. With advancements in drilling technology, it was prudent to develop a new plan that provides for greater economic development of our resources while still providing protections for important resources, such as subsistence uses.â  A map of the tracts being offered in 2019 is available at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/Oil_Gas_Alaska_2019_NPR-A_lease_sale_Tracts_Offered_Map.pdf.
On 5 November 2019, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will hold an oil and gas lease sale bid opening for 350 tracts covering about 3.98 million ac (16,106 sq km) in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). 