# Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Area ID Aliquots

Metadata also available as

### Metadata:

- Identification_Information
- Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
- Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: GIS Staff, BOEM Pacific Office, GIS Analyst
Title: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Area ID Aliquots
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Description:
Abstract:
On March 16th, 2026, BOEM announced the completion of Area Identification, or Area ID, for potential critical minerals leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The Area ID defines specific areas that will undergo further environmental analysis to assess their suitability for possible leasing. The Area ID decision was informed by industry nominations, public comments, and feedback from local government and stakeholders. The Area ID is not a decision to lease, but a planning step that ensures future decisions are grounded in environmental analysis, public input, and intergovernmental coordination.For more information please visit https://www.boem.gov/cnmiWhat are aliquots?Aliquots are generated from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) blocks by subdividing each block into 16ths, and this further subdivision allows for more detailed boundary delineation in offshore energy leasing. These polygons are clipped to the Submerged Land Act Boundary and Continental Shelf Boundaries. The aliquots use a letter designation in addition to their parent protraction number and OCS block number (e.g., NK18-02, 6822F). A full OCS block is 4800 x 4800 meters, while an aliquot measures 1200 x 1200 meters. Smaller, clipped aliquots are found along the Federal/State OCS boundary and along UTM zone borders. Only the most recently published paper or PDF versions of the Official Protraction Aliquot Diagram (OPAD) should be used for official or legal purposes. These data were created in the applicable NAD83 UTM or NAD27 UTM/SPCS Projection and re-projected to GCS WGS84 (EPSG 4326) for management in BOEM's enterprise GIS. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these data are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact boundaries. These data are to be used for cartographic purposes only and should not be used to calculate area.
Purpose:
All aliquots of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Area ID
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: 142.280778
East_Bounding_Coordinate: 149.637008
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 23.177778
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 12.208682
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Categories
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme_Keyword: planningCadastre
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Theme_Keyword: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Theme_Keyword: Area ID
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints: https://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: BOEM Pacific Office
Contact_Person: GIS Staff
Contact_Position: GIS Analyst
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102 (CM 102)
City: Camarillo
State_or_Province: California
Postal_Code: 93010
Country: US
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 805-384-6305
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pacgis@boem.gov
Data_Set_Credit: U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Native_Data_Set_Environment: Esri ArcGIS 13.5.0.57366
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 194778
Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20260311
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: BOEM Pacific Office
Contact_Person: GIS Staff
Contact_Position: GIS Analyst
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102 (CM 102)
City: Camarillo
State_or_Province: California
Postal_Code: 93010
Country: US
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 805-384-6305
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pacgis@boem.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time

Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Wed Mar 11 14:33:18 2026