BSEE director highlights Arctic importance

During a visit to Alaska at the beginning of October, Scott Angelle, director of the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, stressed the importance of the Arctic in the Trump administration’s strategy to achieve U.S. energy dominance, according to a press release issued by BSEE.

BSEE is responsible for the regulation of oil and gas exploration and development on the federal outer continental shelf, including the outer continental shelves of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Proponents of offshore development have cited what they see as overzealous government regulation as a disincentive for development. Environmental organizations have expressed strong concerns regarding the risks that development poses to the offshore environment.

Angelle commented on the need to work with all stakeholders in the region, to ensure that development is conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

“BSEE is in an era of partnership throughout the outer continental shelf,” Angelle said. “BSEE is actively working with all Alaska stakeholders to ensure that any offshore operations are safe and environmentally sustainable in relation to the Arctic environment and the Alaska Natives who are closely connected to the Arctic Ocean.”

Following his meeting with BSEE staff, Angelle toured the U.S. Coast guard’s emergency operations center in Anchorage and met with officials in the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. He then met with leaders from the oil industry, including officials from Eni Petroleum, Hilcorp Energy, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, the Resource Development Council, Arctic Slope Regional Corp. and Doyon Ltd, BSEE said.

Angelle also met with representatives from environmental organizations operating in Alaska, as well as visiting the Anchorage Museum to learn about Alaska Native culture, given the connections between Native communities and the Arctic Ocean for subsistence and other aspects of the Native way of life.

- ALAN BAILEY