83 FR 21791 - Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska OCS Region, Beaufort Sea, Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sale for 2019

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 91 (May 10, 2018)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) in the Federal Register on March 30, 2018, covering a proposed sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area in late 2019, as included in the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program, which BOEM announced on January 4, 2018. That notice had a comment period deadline of April 30, 2018. Several stakeholders have contacted BOEM and requested additional time to submit a comment. BOEM is reopening the comment period.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 91 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21791-21792]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10012]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2017-0063]


Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska OCS Region, Beaufort Sea, 
Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sale for 2019

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Call for information and nominations, reopening of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a Call for 
Information and Nominations (Call) in the Federal Register on March 30, 
2018, covering a proposed sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area in 
late 2019, as included in the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental 
Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program, which BOEM 
announced on January 4, 2018. That notice had a comment period deadline 
of April 30, 2018. Several stakeholders have contacted BOEM and 
requested additional time to submit a comment. BOEM is reopening the 
comment period.

DATES: All nominations and comments submitted in response to this Call 
and extension must be received by BOEM no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern 
Time on May 30, 2018. BOEM will consider submissions sent by mail as 
long as they are postmarked by the last day of the comment period.

ADDRESSES: Public Comment Submission Procedures: All public comments 
should be submitted through one of the following methods:

[[Page 21792]]

    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
field entitled, ``Search,'' enter ``BOEM-2017-0063'' and then click 
``search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view 
supporting and related materials available for this notice;
    2. U.S. Postal Service or other delivery service to the following 
address: Chief, Leasing Section, BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823. Send your 
comments in an envelope clearly labeled, ``Comments on the Call for 
Information and Nominations for Proposed 2019 Lease Sale in the 
Beaufort Sea Planning Area.''
    Nominations/Indications of Industry Interest Submission Procedures: 
To ensure security and confidentiality of proprietary information to 
the maximum extent possible, please send nominations/indications of 
interest and other proprietary information to Chief, Leasing Section, 
BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99503-5823. Send your nominations in an envelope clearly 
labeled, ``Nominations for Proposed 2019 Lease Sale in the Beaufort Sea 
Planning Area.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Patricia LaFramboise, Chief, 
Leasing Section, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Alaska OCS Region, 
3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK 99503, telephone (907) 
334-5200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Call published on March 
30, 2018, (83 FR 13778) was to solicit industry nominations for areas 
of leasing interest and to gather comments and information on the area 
included in the Call for consideration in planning for this proposed 
OCS oil and gas lease sale. Because this lease sale is proposed to 
occur in 2019, and given the long lead time needed to prepare for a 
proposed sale, the planning process must begin now or the option of a 
lease sale in 2019 would be precluded. However, the Call is not a 
decision to lease and is not a prejudgment by the Secretary concerning 
any area that may be made available for leasing under the 2019-2024 
National OCS Program. Please refer to the original Federal Register 
notice for additional information related to the Call for Information 
and Nominations.

1. Authority

    This Call is published pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331-1356), and the 
implementing regulation at 30 CFR 556.301.

2. Protection of Privileged or Proprietary Information

    BOEM will protect privileged or proprietary information that 
industry submits in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) and OCSLA requirements. To avoid inadvertent release of such 
information, all documents and every page containing such information 
should be marked with the statement, ``Confidential--Contains 
Proprietary Information.'' To the extent a document contains a mix of 
proprietary and nonproprietary information, the document should be 
clearly marked to indicate which portion of the document is proprietary 
and which is not. Exemption 4 of FOIA applies to trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information that you submit that is privileged 
or confidential. The OCSLA states that the ``Secretary shall maintain 
the confidentiality of all privileged or proprietary data or 
information for such period of time as is provided for in this 
subchapter, established by regulation, or agreed to by the parties'' 
(43 U.S.C. 1344(g)). BOEM considers nominations of specific blocks to 
be proprietary, and therefore BOEM will not release information that 
identifies any particular nomination with any particular party, so as 
not to compromise the competitive position of any participants in the 
process of indicating interest.
    However, please be aware that BOEM's practice is to make all 
comments, including the names and addresses of individuals, available 
for public inspection. Before including your address, phone number, 
email address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, please be advised that your entire comment, including your 
personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any 
time. In order for BOEM to withhold from disclosure your personal 
identifying information, you must identify any information contained in 
the submission of your comments that, if released, would constitute a 
clearly unwarranted invasion of your personal privacy. You must also 
briefly describe any possible harmful consequence(s) of the disclosure 
of information, such as embarrassment, injury or other harm. While you 
can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal 
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so. BOEM will make available for public inspection, in their entirety, 
all comments submitted by organizations and businesses, or by 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations 
or businesses.

    Dated: May 7, 2018.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-10012 Filed 5-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P