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Murkowski: Democrats ignore the facts Alaska’s senior senator cites 30 years of safe Arctic development; Democratic senators ask Jewell to halt offshore Arctic permits Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says a May 22 letter from 18 Senate Democrats asking the Obama administration to stop Arctic energy production “ignores the facts.”
“For more than 30 years, Alaska has demonstrated its safe record of responsible oil and natural gas development in the Arctic,” Murkowski said in a May 23 statement.
The letter, to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, urged Interior’s “Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to halt all offshore oil and gas drilling permits in the Arctic region, one of the world’s most delicate ecosystems, given the extreme and treacherous conditions, and the severely limited capacity for response and cleanup.”
Shell received a conditional approval for its Chukchi Sea Burger prospect exploration plan May 11 from Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Permits required The conditional approval requires Shell to obtain the necessary permits, including a drilling permit from BSEE.
“We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea, recognizing the significant environmental, social and ecological resources in the region and establishing high standards for the protection of this critical ecosystem, our Arctic communities, and the subsistence needs and cultural traditions of Alaska Natives,” BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement when the conditional approval was granted.
The arguments “The oil and gas industry has demonstrated inadequacies in oil spill prevention and response in challenging Arctic waters, and the region lacks the infrastructure to support either drilling operations or clean up response with adequate safety or effectiveness,” the 18 Democratic Senators said.
“Even the Obama administration agrees this project can move along safely,” Murkowski said in her response.
“Right now, the United States can either choose to responsibly develop its resources under its superior standards or let countries like Russia lead the way.”
The Democratic Senators argued “Arctic leases, such as those sold in the Chukchi Sea or in the proposed 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, should be retired or withdrawn along with Barrow or Kaktovik.” The senators urged “the Department of the Interior to prioritize ecosystem health, the safety and cultural practices of local communities, and to prohibit drilling and leasing in the Arctic Ocean.”
Murkowski quoted BOEM Director Hopper, who told Platts in an interview that new Arctic energy development could be carried out safely.
In her interview with Platts Hopper said, “I think we are willing to facilitate development in the Arctic. I think that as an administration we believe that it can happen safely if you meet these stringent requirements, which we think are appropriately balanced to allow industry to move forward while also being protective of the environment.”
The president’s views Murkowski also noted that Hopper echoed President Obama’s recent comments.
In response to a question about Arctic drilling, the president said May 14 that he was mindful of the risks of offshore drilling following events in the Gulf of Mexico early in his presidency.
Because of the risks and dangers involved, the administration took several years to approve an application by Shell for exploration, he said, “until they could provide us with the kinds of assurances that we have not seen before, taking account of the extraordinary challenges if, in fact, there was a leak that far north and in that kind of an environment, which would be much more difficult to deal with than in the Gulf.”
Based on high standards the administration set, Shell had to go back to the drawing board, the president said, and “revamp its approach, and the experts at this point have concluded that they have met those standards.”
“I would rather us - with all the safeguards and standards that we have - be producing our oil and gas, rather than importing it, which is bad for our people, but is also potentially purchased from places that have much lower environmental standards than we do,” the president said.
Murkowski echoed that sentiment: “We can either choose to produce our own resources or return to the costly days of buying them from abroad,” she said. “When it comes to realizing the benefits of energy production, I’ll always put Alaska and our nation first.”
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