The state put up for auction nearly 2,400 tracts of land for oil and gas development today, and for an Oklahoma-based oil company the odds of posting a winning bid were stacked heavily in its favor.

Oklahoma’s Hewitt Mineral Corp. was the only bidder.

The land offered was in the North Slope foothills region and along the Alaska Peninsula near Bristol Bay.

But only one bid was for a tract on the peninsula, going to Hewitt Mineral for nearly $39,000. The state expects more interest in the future once the federal government decides if it will open Bristol Bay for oil and gas development.

“Once there is some assurance that a sale in the (Alaska Outer Continental Shelf) will occur, I believe there will be greater interest in the peninsula as well. Some of the best oil and gas prospects in the region are in the OCS,” said Kevin Banks from the Natural Resources Department.

Posted: 03|1|07 at 9:07 am. Filed under: US News.