The Department of the Interior affirmed Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sale 193 after environmental analysis and public input, the Department said March 31. Remaining oil and gas leases issued in 2008, as a result of the sale, were also affirmed through the record of decision, the department added.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) began formal review of a company’s exploration plan in the Chukchi Sea OCS. The BOEM, and other federal agencies including the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, will review and approve activities before exploration begins.

Lease sale 193’s environmental and impact statement was published in 2007, but the sale was remanded for further analysis back to the BOEM after federal court decisions and other legal challenges. Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the BOEM’s estimates of production levels from OCS oil fields that might be discovered in the Chukchi Sea.

The BOEM published a supplemental EIS report in February, and the March 31 decision to affirm the lease was based on this report. All leases issued via lease sale 193 are no longer suspended.

“The Arctic is an important component of the administration’s national energy strategy, and we remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “This unique, sensitive and often challenging environment requires effective oversight to ensure all activities are conducted safely and responsibly.”

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