Forte Energy, through its subsidiary Peritas, has emerged as the highest bidder for two oil and gas leases totalling 13,220 acres in the latest National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A) lease sale.
The company submitted bids at $27/acre for land located next to its Umiat oilfield acreage.
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Existing 3D seismic data, acquired by Renaissance Alaska in 2008, covers an estimated 22km² downdip of the Umiat field and displays notable amplitude versus offset (AVO) anomalies.
The NPR-A lease sale attracted 430 bids totalling $250m. Of that amount, $163m represents the apparent high bids for 187 leases.
Companies such as Repsol/Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and a subsidiary of Armstrong Oil and Gas also participated as notable bidders.
Forte Energy non-executive chairman Dougal Ferguson said: “The success of the 2026 NPR-A lease sale is a breath of fresh air for Alaska and for the industry as a whole.
“We are delighted to have been named as the apparent high bidder on these two leases, enabling the company to expand its position so promptly after the recent acquisition of Peritas.
“The two new leases benefit from existing 3D seismic coverage that would cost tens of millions of dollars if it were to be acquired today.
“This data reveals enticing AVO anomalies across a prospect which we now look forward to analysing in detail as a precursor to defining prospective resources.”
Members of Forte Energy’s board stated that they view the strong interest in the lease sale as support for activity in the region and their business strategy at a time when domestic energy sources are gaining prominence in the US.
The US Federal Government owns and administers the NPR-A, a 23-million-acre region in northern Alaska. Originally designated in 1923 as an emergency oil reserve for the US Navy, management of the NPR-A shifted to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in 1976.
The site has drawn congressional attention over several decades due to its biological diversity, its importance to some Alaska Native communities, and estimates regarding substantial oil and gas reserves in the area.
