[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14427-14429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7010]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Mangement Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region, Norton Basin

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Call for information and nominations (Call).

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SUMMARY: The Secretary's decision to consider offering the Norton Basin 
planning area in the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2002-2007 
provides for an 18-month ``special-interest'' process beginning with 
publication of this Call. Based on the information and specific 
nominations received as a result of this Call, a decision will be made 
whether to proceed with a sale.

DATES: Nominations and comments on the Call must be received no later 
than 90 days after publication of this document in the Federal 
Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please call Tom Warren at (907) 271-
6691 in MMS's Alaska OCS Region.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of this ``special-interest'' 
leasing option is to foster exploration in a high-cost frontier OCS 
area remote from oil and gas infrastructure without investment of the 
considerable time and effort required for holding a typical lease sale. 
The general approach is to query industry regarding the level of 
interest in proceeding with a sale in the Norton Basin where we would 
expect to offer focused areas of specific interest for exploration and 
to request nominations of such areas. However, we will proceed based on 
the comments and information we do receive. Norton Basin may contain 
quantities of natural gas, which might be used for western Alaska 
communities if economically feasible. Comments are also being requested 
from the general public on this special-interest leasing process, 
including the terms and conditions of a sale. The MMS will consider all 
comments and nominations in the decision on whether and where within 
the Norton Basin to proceed with leasing and on the terms and 
conditions of a lease sale proposal. A decision to offer a nominated 
area for leasing will be conditioned on an informal commitment from 
industry to explore the area leased within a specific time period.
    This is the second Call issued for the Norton Basin for this 5-year 
program. The first Call was published in the Federal Register on 
January 22, 2002. No interest was expressed; therefore, the process was 
stopped and deferred to this year. If no interest is expressed in 
response to this second Call, MMS will defer the sale for one year and 
reissue the Call the following year. This process will continue 
throughout the 5-year program until there is sufficient interest to 
proceed with the planning steps toward a sale. Only one round of lease 
issuance in Norton Basin would occur during this 5-year program.
    This Call does not indicate a preliminary decision to lease in the 
area described below. If no interest is expressed, MMS will defer the 
sale for one year and reissue the Call the following year. If MMS 
decides to proceed with the sale process, MMS will make the final 
decision on the specific areas for possible leasing at a later date in 
the presale process and in compliance with the 5-year program and with 
applicable laws including all requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA). The MMS 
may adjust the dimensions of a nominated area after discussions with 
the nominating company(ies).

[[Page 14428]]

Call for Information and Nominations

1. Authority

    This Call is published pursuant to the OCSLA, as amended (43 U.S.C. 
1331-1356, (1994)), and the regulations issued thereunder (30 CFR part 
256 and 30 CFR part 260); and in accordance with the OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program 2002-2007, approved June 27, 2002.

2. Purpose of Call

    The purpose of the Call is to gather preliminary information, to 
request nomination of specific areas of interest to industry, and to 
request comments on the terms and conditions of offering these special 
interest lands. The Call also serves to initiate public outreach to 
assist in preparation of the NEPA analysis for this proposal. This 
proposal is in keeping with section 102(9) of the OCSLA Amendments of 
1978, which states as a purpose of the statute, ``to insure that the 
extent of oil and natural gas resources of the OCS is assessed at the 
earliest practicable time.'' The objective of the ``special-interest'' 
leasing process is to encourage exploration in a frontier OCS area for 
the discovery of oil and gas. This area might contain natural gas for 
potential use in local communities. The sale would offer for lease both 
oil and gas.
    Comments, information, and nominations on oil and gas leasing, 
exploration, and development and production within the Norton Basin are 
sought from all interested parties. Comments are also being sought on 
the terms, conditions, and economic incentives of a sale in the Norton 
Basin. Industry and other interested parties are strongly encouraged to 
contact the Alaska OCS Region with questions or to discuss interest in 
the area. This early planning and consultation step is particularly 
important to this special interest process. The MMS will base its 
decision on whether to proceed with the presale process and the terms 
and conditions of a sale on the nominations and other information 
received in response to this Call. This process will ensure a decision 
that considers the concerns of all respondents in future decisions in 
this leasing process pursuant to the OCSLA and regulations at 30 CFR 
part 256 and 30 CFR part 260. Commenters are also encouraged to submit 
comments and suggestions on the ``special-interest'' leasing process in 
general.
    This Call is being issued in accordance with the OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program 2002-2007, approved June 27, 2002. The program offers 
one sale in the Norton Basin during the 5-year program. This is the 
second Call issued for the Norton Basin Program Area. The first Call 
was published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2002, and no 
interest was expressed.

3. Description of Area

    The area subject to this Call is located offshore the State of 
Alaska in the northern Bering Sea, west and south off the coast of the 
Seward Peninsula. It consists of approximately 4,742 whole and partial 
blocks (about 10.1 million hectares or 25 million acres). It extends 
offshore from about 3 to approximately 320 miles in water depths from 
about 25 feet to approximately 650 feet.
    A page size map of the area accompanies this Notice. A large scale 
Call map showing the boundaries of the area on a block-by-block basis 
is available without charge from the Public Information Office at the 
address given below, or by telephone request at (907) 271-6438 or 1-
800-764-2627. Copies of Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) are also 
available for $2 each. Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 
949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508-4302, 
[email protected].

4. Instructions on Call

    The Call for Information map and indications of interest and/or 
comments must be submitted to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and 
Environment, at the above address.
    The Call map delineates the area that is the subject of this Call. 
Respondents are requested to indicate very specific areas of interest 
in and comment on the Federal acreage within the boundaries of the Call 
area that they wish to have included in a proposed sale in the Norton 
Basin.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one the 
following methods:
    [sbull] You may mail comments to the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska 
99508-4302.
    [sbull] Comments may be submitted directly from the Internet at 
http://www.mms.gov/alaska. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Please also include ``Attn: Comments on Call for Information and 
Nominations for Proposed 2004 Lease Sale in Norton Basin'' and your 
name and return address in your Internet message.
    Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the Alaska OCS Region, 
Minerals Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, 
Alaska. Our practice is to make comments, including names and addresses 
of respondents, available for public review during regular business 
hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their 
address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. Under certain circumstances we can withhold a 
respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold 
your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous 
comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.
    A. Areas of Interest to the Oil and Gas Industry. Industry must be 
candid and very specific regarding the areas they nominate if this 
process is to succeed. The purpose of this process is to identify and 
expect to offer only small, focused areas where industry has a 
significant interest in exploration. Nominations covering large-scale 
areas will not be helpful in defining these areas.
    Nominations must be depicted on the Call map by outlining the 
area(s) of interest along block lines. Nominators are asked to submit a 
list of whole and partial blocks nominated (by OPD and block number) to 
facilitate correct interpretation of their nominations on the Call map. 
Although the identities of those submitting nominations become a matter 
of public record, the individual nominations are proprietary 
information and will not be released to the public. The telephone 
number and name of a person to contact in the nominator's organization 
for additional information should be included in the response. This 
person will be contacted to set up a mutually agreeable time and place 
for a meeting with the Alaska OCS Regional Office to present their 
views regarding the company's nominations.
    B. Terms, Conditions, and Economic Incentives Pertaining to Lease 
Issuance. Respondents are requested to comment on the terms, 
conditions, and economic incentives pertaining to lease issuance for 
any leases that may be issued as a result of a sale in the Norton 
Basin. The MMS is aware of the lack of infrastructure and distance from 
shore to some of the blocks in this area and will consider these 
factors in designing any incentives. The following are being considered 
for use in this sale:

--Lease term of 10 years

[[Page 14429]]

--Submission of an exploration plan within 8 years of lease issuance
--Economic incentives structured similar in form to those contained in 
the Proposed Notice of Sale for Beaufort Sea Sale 186 (68 FR 8306, 
February 20, 2003).

Incentives proposed for Beaufort Sea Sale 186 are:
--Royalty suspension volumes (RSV) for oil production (with possible 
consideration for gas)
--Subject to a price floor per barrel below which oil production that 
is royalty free does not count against the RSV
--Price ceiling per barrel above which production must bear full 
royalties

    C. Relation to Coastal Management Plans. Comments also are sought 
on potential conflicts with approved local coastal management plans 
(CMP) that may result from the proposed sale and future OCS oil and gas 
activities. These comments should identify specific CMP policies of 
concern, the nature of the conflicts foreseen, and steps that MMS could 
take to avoid or mitigate the potential conflicts. Comments may be in 
terms of broad areas or restricted to particular blocks of concern. 
Commenters are requested to list block numbers or outline the subject 
area on the large-scale Call map.

5. Use of Information from Call

    Information submitted in response to this Call will be used for 
several purposes. We will use responses to:

--Determine whether to proceed with a competitive oil and gas lease 
sale in Norton Basin
--Identify specific areas of interest for oil and/or gas exploration 
and development
--Identify environmental effects and potential use conflicts
--Assist in the public outreach for the environmental analysis
--Develop possible alternatives to the proposed action
--Develop lease terms and conditions and mitigating measures
--Identify potential conflicts between oil and gas activities and the 
Alaska CMP

6. Existing Information

    An extensive environmental, social, and economic studies program 
has been underway in the Alaska OCS Region since 1976, including 
studies in this area. The emphasis has been on geologic mapping, 
environmental characterization of biologically sensitive habitats, 
endangered whales and marine mammals, physical oceanography, ocean-
circulation modeling, and ecological and socio-cultural effects of oil 
and gas activities.
    The MMS has had one past sale in the Norton Basin area. In March 
1983, Sale 57 was held and resulted in 59 leases being issued. There 
were six exploratory wells drilled, but all have been permanently 
plugged and abandoned. All 59 leases have since been relinquished or 
have expired. For the Norton Basin Planning Area, it is estimated that 
undiscovered conventionally recoverable resources are 0.05 billion 
barrels of oil and 2.71 trillion cubic feet of gas.
    Information on the studies program, completed studies, and a 
program status report for continuing studies in this area may be 
obtained from the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, Alaska OCS 
Region, by telephone request at (907) 271-6577, or by written request 
at the address stated under Description of Area. A request may also be 
made via the Alaska Region Web site at [email protected].

7. Tentative Schedule

    If MMS receives specific nominations from industry in response to 
this Call and decides to proceed with the pre-sale process, the 
following is a list of tentative milestone dates applicable to a Norton 
Basin sale in 2004:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Tentative Process milestones
                                              for proposed 2004 Norton
                                                     Basin Sale
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Call published/public outreach initiated..  March 2003.
Comments due on Call......................  June 2003.
Decision whether to proceed/Area            July 2003.
 Identification.
NEPA analysis.............................  January 2004.
Consistency Determination/Proposed Notice   April 2004.
 of Sale.
Governor's Comments due...................  June 2004.
Final Notice of Sale published............  August 2004.
Sale......................................  September 2004.
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    Dated: March 19, 2003.
R. M. ``Johnnie'' Burton,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. 03-7010 Filed 3-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P