The company acquired roughly 275,000 acres of a total of 319,368 acres bids on during the sale.

The total amount submitted in apparent high bids of leases was nearly $8.54 million, state oil and gas director Kevin Banks said at the conclusion of the sale.

Armstrong submitted the bulk of the bids, but two other independents, Savant Alaska LLC, based in Denver, and Anchorage-based AVCP Inc. also won tracts.

Savant acquired tracts east of the Point Thomson unit near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while AVCP's tracts were near the producing Alpine oil field to the west, near the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska boundary.

The bulk of Armstrong's tracts were in the southwest part of the state-owned central North Slope, south of the Alpine field and near the small Tarn and Meltwater oil fields that are satellites of the Kuparuk River field.

Several bids were made by individuals. Only one was submitted, though unsuccessfully, by a major company, ConocoPhillips, for an unleased tract near the Kuparuk River field. Armstrong outbid ConocoPhillips on the tract.

Armstrong has a history of aggressive exploration in Alaska and several of its initiatives have resulted in discoveries and production.

The company did the initial exploration on the Oooguruk field, now owned by Pioneer Natural Resources and Eni Oil and Gas, and on the Nikaitchuq field now being developed by Eni.

Armstrong is also working in southern Alaska on development of the small North Fork gas field on the Kenai Peninsula.

The results are preliminary. Final results from the bids were to be posted Oct. 29 on the state Division of Oil and Gas Web site.