Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    SweetCrudeReportsSweetCrudeReports
    Subscribe
    • Home
    • Oil
    • Gas
    • Power
    • Solid Minerals
    • Labour
    • Financing
    • Freight
    • Community Development
    • E-Editions
    SweetCrudeReportsSweetCrudeReports
    Home » U.S. govt releases draft proposal for expanded Alaska oil development

    U.S. govt releases draft proposal for expanded Alaska oil development

    November 22, 2019
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
    U.S. govt releases draft proposal for expanded Alaska oil development
    Arctic oil rig

    Anchorage, Alaska — Environmentally sensitive but potentially oil-rich areas of Arctic Alaska will be opened to oil development under a new Trump administration proposal to undo Obama-era protections.

    The proposed changes are described in a draft environmental impact statement for managing the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, a 23 million-acre (9.3 million-hectare) unit of federal land on the western side of Alaska’s North Slope.

    The draft, released late on Thursday by the Bureau of Land Management, contains a set of options. The most aggressive would allow oil development in 81 percent of the reserve. Under the Obama-era management plan enacted in 2013 and currently in effect, about half the reserve is open to oil development and half is protected for its wildlife and cultural values.

    New oil discoveries and the westward spread of North Slope oil-field development justifies increased access for drilling, Trump administration officials argue.

    “With advancements in technology and increased knowledge of the area, it was prudent to develop a new plan that provides greater economic development of our resources while still providing protections for important resources and subsistence access,” Chad Padgett, BLM’s Alaska state director, said in a statement released on Thursday.

    The draft environmental impact statement is subject to a 60-day public review. A final statement and an action decision are expected to follow, the BLM said.

    Also Read: Aramco IPO: It’s a thanks, but no thanks from Malaysia’s Petronas

    A former Obama administration official who helped craft the 2013 plan said the push for expanded drilling access is part of a pattern of Trump-era environmental rollbacks.

    “It kind of gives some of us who worked on the plan a sad feeling,” said Pat Pourchot, the Interior Department’s former top Alaska official and now a board member of the Alaska Wilderness League.

    “Does oil and gas trump everything in terms of natural resources? Is that the first and highest value for every acre of federal lands? I would think not,” he said.

    The Trump administration has taken other steps to open up Arctic Alaska territory to new oil development.

    The BLM is planning for a lease sale in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern side of the North Slope, an area that lost its decades-long protective status when Congress passed the 2017 tax overhaul bill. That bill contained a provision requiring oil leasing in the refuge.

    The administration also proposed opening vast areas of Arctic waters to oil drilling. A federal judge earlier this year threw out the Interior Department’s plans for Arctic offshore oil leasing.

    Kindly like us on facebook

    • Reuters

    Related News

    Occidental Petroleum says Gulf of Mexico output hit by curtailments in Q2

    EU envoys near agreement on lower Russian oil price cap

    DAPMAN commends NMDPRA for it’s strategic regulatory oversight

    E-book
    Resilience Exhibition

    Latest News

    Gold rises as trade tensions persist ahead of key inflation data

    July 15, 2025

    Occidental Petroleum says Gulf of Mexico output hit by curtailments in Q2

    July 15, 2025

    EU envoys near agreement on lower Russian oil price cap

    July 15, 2025

    Britain, Czech Republic to work together on small nuclear plants

    July 15, 2025

    FG will empower NDDC to deliver on its mandate – Tinubu

    July 15, 2025
    Demo
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Opec Daily Basket
    • Oil
    • Power
    • Gas
    • Freight
    • Financing
    • Labour
    • Technology
    • Solid Mineral
    • Conferences/Seminars
    • Community Development
    • Nigerian Content Initiative
    • Niger-Delta Question
    • Insurance
    • Other News
    • Focus
    • Feedback
    • Hanging Out With Markson

    Subscribe for Updates

    Get the latest energy news from Sweetcrudereports.

    Please wait...
    Please enter all required fields Click to hide
    Correct invalid entries Click to hide
    © 2025 Sweetcrudereports.
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy Policy

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.