U.S. BLM sets September date for NPR energy leases

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said on Friday it will hold a September 24 oil and gas lease sale for a fifth of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The National Petroleum Reserve may contain more than 8 billion barrels of oil, the BLM said. The United States now has an estimated 22 billion in proved reserves, according to the U.S. Interior Department.

This area has been open for oil exploration for decades and would not be affected by an opening of U.S. offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf that is a presidential campaign issue.

The leases offered are for portions of the National Petroleum Reserve's northeastern section, where exploration has been under way for several years. That is also where ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Anadarko (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are developing an oil-field unit.

Leases will also be offered in the northwestern section of the National Petroleum Reserve, which is farther from Alaska's existing oil infrastructure.

The BLM is likely to offer about 2.8 million acres in the northeast section and 1.9 million acres in the northwest section, said Ruth McCord, a BLM spokeswoman in Alaska.

"We are looking forward to this lease sale," Tom Lonnie, Alaska state BLM director, said in a news release. "As new and existing leases are explored we will ensure that development of the resource is conducted in an environmentally safe manner."

The lease sale comes amid calls for more oil and gas development on federal lands.