Nearly 10 million acres are up for auction on the Alaska Peninsula and in the Cook Inlet, according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Bidding in the lease sale, which kicked off last Friday, is through May 7, with the awards scheduled to be announced on May 9.

The Alaska Peninsula Areawide sale includes four million gross onshore acres and 1.75 million gross offshore acres with 1,047 tracts ranging in size from 640 to 5,760 acres.

“The sale area is located on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula, stretching from Nushagak Peninsula in the north to Cold Bay in the south and west,” officials said.

The Cook Inlet Areawide sale covers about 4.2 million gross acres divided into 815 tracts that range in size from 640 to 5,760 acres. Tracts are within the city of Anchorage and two boroughs, Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai. The lease sale also includes tide and submerged lands in the upper Cook Inlet.

Two years ago, Alaska drew no bids from similar lease sales effort for Cook Inlet and the Alaska Peninsula. At the time, DNR officials attributed the lack of participation to low commodity prices and a limited amount of available acreage around producing areas and infrastructure in Cook Inlet.