Only days after coming out on top of — and being the only bidder in — a federal lease sale for the right to drill for oil in gas in Cook Inlet, Hilcorp Alaska was announced as the only bidder in a state sale of nearly 23,000 acres of Cook Inlet area for the same purpose.

According to a press release from the State Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas special Cook Inlet lease sale was held in December, with bids available to be submitted from Dec. 12 to Dec. 28.

The state offered 2.8 million acres of Cook Inlet across 721 tracts. The State Department of Natural Resources reports that six bids were received on six offshore tracts. Each of those bids was placed by Hilcorp Alaska.

Hilcorp Alaska stands to claim 22,783 acres for a total of $359,483.23 — an average of $15.78 per acre. Hilcorp already holds around 240,000 acres in Cook Inlet across 137 leases, not including the nearly 6,000 acres it stands to gain from last week’s federal sale.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.