In a letter sent today to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources called on the federal government to finalize a 2017-2022 offshore oil and natural gas leasing program that “ensures timely and predictable access to Alaska’s highly prospective OCS lands.”  Among other things, the letter voices opposition to proposed delays in Alaskan offshore lease sales toward the end of the 2017-2022 program, and notes that Alaska would be expected to receive $7.7 billion more than it otherwise would have over a 20-year period due to production in the Arctic.