US seeks more interest in Alaska offshore drilling
Source: Reuters
US seeks more interest in Alaska offshore drilling
WASHINGTON, March 24 | Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:50pm EDT
(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Saturday said it would again gauge interest from the oil and gas industry to explore federal waters off the Alaska coast, another bid to expand domestic energy production as gas prices soar and political pressure grows.
The Interior Department said it would again issue an official request for drilling interest in potential development leases in federal waters in Cook Inlet off the south-central coast of Alaska.
A federal lease sale for that area a year ago was canceled because of lack of interest. Cook Inlet, the channel that runs from the Anchorage area south to the Gulf of Alaska, is home to Alaska's oldest producing oil and gas basin.
The Interior Department has estimated the area could contain more than 1 billion barrels of oil and 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that is undiscovered and potentially recoverable. It has said at least one company has expressed interest, but has not identified it.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/24/obama-energy-idUSL2E8EO0XT20120324
