U.S. publishes initial terms for Alaska oil leases

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department published on Friday the initial terms for its upcoming Alaskan lease sale, which will give energy companies the chance to drill for oil in the state's Chukchi Sea.

Lease Sale 193 will involve about 6,100 tracts spread over 34 million acres off Alaska's northwestern coast. The tracts lie in water depths from 95 to 262 feet, with a small portion of the northeast corner of the area in water 9,800 feet deep.

The area could hold 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil, with production lasting for possibly 25 years, according to the department.

The department said natural gas production in the Chukchi Sea was "speculative" at this time, because there is no pipeline to move any found gas to markets.

The initial terms for the lease sale, which is scheduled for February, were published in Friday's Federal Register of government regulations.