Wednesday, 09 November 2011 10:13
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| Shell Alaska photo. Alaska Dispatch. |
The 2012 to 2017 draft plan would allow 15 lease sales in six offshore areas, including one each in the Beaufort Sea in 2015, in the Chukchi Sea in 2016, and a special-interest sale in Cook Inlet in 2013, according to a National Journal article.
A lease sale isn't a guarantee to drill. Companies must first clear numerous permitting hurdles, a process that can take years. The final plan is due next year.
Politicians react
Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich praised the announcement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, but said more needs to happen to allow responsible development in Alaska. Murkowski, a Republican, called the plan a "positive sign," in a statement to media. But she pounced on permitting issues that have slowed development in Alaska. Dutch-giant Shell Oil has spent more than $3 billion over the last five years in hopes of punching exploratory wells in the Beaufort and Chuckchi seas.But its plans have been stymied by regulatory delays, company officials have said.
"Any company interested in exploring for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska must have a reasonable expectation that the permitting process will be robust but with a timeline that is not unreasonable," Murkowski said. "We can't expect companies to invest billions of dollars and then subject them to a permitting process that drags on for years with no end in sight."
"Headlong rush" towards development?
The Deepwater Horizon disaster that gushed oil into the Gulf of Mexico last year brought promises of tighter federal oversight to offshore drilling. The Alaska Wilderness League called the plan for Arctic drilling a "headlong rush" toward development and said it looks like the Obama Administration hasn't learned from mistakes that led to the Deepwater Horizon.
"Let's check the cold, hard facts: There is no proven way to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's extreme, icy conditions," said Cindy Shogan, executive director of the wilderness league. "The last public spill drill in the Arctic – that tested booms and skimmers and other conventional methods of oil spill cleanup only in partial sea ice conditions in 2000 – was deemed a failure. Since then, the oil industry has put forth drilling plans that are inadequate, deficient and fail to take into account real-world Arctic conditions."
Shell Oil has promised to clean up 95 percent of all oil that might be spilled in the Arctic, she said, but less than 10 percent was cleaned up in the Gulf last year and during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.
"President Obama, we ask you to stand up for your promises and keep the Arctic out of the final version of the five-year program," which is due for release in June, the group noted in a media release.
More data needed says group
The environmental group Oceana called the Arctic lease sales "disappointing," but saying it applauded the fact that the delayed lease sales were meant to allow for more science to be gathered.
Still, the group, in a media statement, noted that past five-year lease sales by the federal government contained "significant deficiencies." It called for a continued halt on activities related to those lease sales, including by Shell, until more data is gathered."Moving forward without basic science or demonstrated response capacity continues failed policies of the past that have led to controversy and litigation," said Michael LeVine, Oceana Pacific's senior counsel.
Interior officials said they were moving ahead cautiously, offering most of the sales in the Gulf of Mexico where infrastructure is most mature.
Still, the group, in a media statement, noted that past five-year lease sales by the federal government contained "significant deficiencies." It called for a continued halt on activities related to those lease sales, including by Shell, until more data is gathered.
"Moving forward without basic science or demonstrated response capacity continues failed policies of the past that have led to controversy and litigation," said Michael LeVine, Oceana Pacific's senior counsel.
Interior officials said they were moving ahead cautiously, offering most of the sales in the Gulf of Mexico where infrastructure is most mature.
More leases would be sold in the Arctic "only after additional evaluations have been completed and in a manner that accounts for the Arctic's unique environmental resources and the social, cultural, and subsistence needs of Native Alaskan communities," said Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes.The proposed sales for the Beaufort and Chukchi seas are scheduled late in the five-year process to allow for more scientific study, data collection, and spill-response planning, Interior said in a written statement. Any Arctic lease sales should be tailored to protect sensitive environmental and subsistence resources.
Begich, in his statement to media, highlighted his revenue sharing bill, Senate Bill 205, which allow Alaska to receive the same share of offshore revenue as Gulf states, which could brings hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue to Alaska.
As part of the public-hearing process for the draft plan, Tommy Beaudreau, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management director, plans a series of meetings in Alaska over the next two months.
The dates and communities where the Alaska hearings will be held are Wainwright on Dec. 5, Nuiqsut on Dec. 6, Kaktovik on Dec. 7, Fairbanks on Dec. 8, Anchorage on Dec. 9, Kotzebue on Dec. 12, Point Hope on Dec. 13, Point Lay on Dec. 14 and Barrow on Dec. 16.