Alaska extends North Slope and Beaufort Sea lease bid deadlines after email trouble

The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas on Thursday extended its deadlines for bidders in the Beaufort Sea, North Slope and North Slope Foothills oil and gas lease sales. Bidders now have until 2 pm Wednesday, Nov. 18, to settle bid deposit wire transfers and submit signed bid forms.

The division cited "issues with State of Alaska email service on November 12, 2026." The supplemental notice says the extension gives bidders more time to meet the bid deposit and signature requirements in the sale instructions issued Sept. 28. It does not change any other terms of the sales.

The state opened bidding Oct. 20 on nearly 8 million acres across the three areas. Bidding runs on the Efficient Markets platform and was set to close Nov. 12, according to an Oct. 20 division release. The notice says bidders will get more information on deposits and bid forms from Efficient Markets after bidding ends.

The Beaufort Sea offering holds 298 tracts spanning 865,000 acres. The North Slope offering holds 1,741 tracts covering more than 2.6 million acres. The Foothills offering holds 817 tracts covering more than 4 million acres. In September, the state raised the minimum bid in these sales from $25 to $35 an acre.

The division plans to post the list of bids received at 9 am Nov. 18 at dog.dnr.alaska.gov, five hours before the new deadline. Winning bids will not be determined until all bids are adjudicated, which the notice says may happen after the 2 pm deadline.