Washington (Platts)--2Jan2008

The US Minerals Management Service continued with its plan to hold the
first oil and gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea region offshore Alaska in 17
years, issuing a final notice of sale in the Federal Register Wednesday.

Sale 193, to be held February 6 in Anchorage, will offer about 5,300
whole or partial blocks on nearly 30 acres of land in water depths from 95 to
262 feet, MMS said.

The agency, which overseas energy development in US federal waters,
estimates that the Chukchi Sea could contain 15 billion barrels of oil and 76
Tcf natural gas, based on a mean estimate of conventionally recoverable
resources.

"We believe our decision is a good balance, and will allow companies to
explore this intriguing frontier area while still protecting the resources
important to the coastal residents," MMS Director Randall Luthi said in a
statement.

Luthi said the agency received "excellent comments" from Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin and North Slope Borough Mayor Edward Itta, as well as from
community and tribal leaders, and industry and environmental groups.

"All leases will be subject to MMS's existing regulations that include
extensive requirements for safety, drilling operations, and pollution
prevention, plus regulations of other agencies protecting marine mammals,
endangered species, and air and water quality," Luthi said.

The sale area will not include "nearshore" waters ranging from about 25
to 50 miles from the coast, which include waters through which the bowhead and
beluga whales, other marine mammals, and marine birds migrate north in the
spring, and in which local communities subsistence hunt.

In addition, leases issued from the sale will include stipulations to
address environmental effects that may occur because of exploration and
development of the area's oil and gas resources. These stipulations call for
protection of biological resources, including protected marine mammals and
birds and methods to minimize interference with subsistence hunting and other
subsistence harvesting activities.

--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com