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NOAA head hears from inlet operators Signs agreement with Shell, ConocoPhillips, Statoil to collaborate on ocean, coastal, climate science, share scientific data sets Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
A visit to Anchorage with Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, gave NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco an opportunity to hear concerns from companies working in Cook Inlet, and to sign an agreement for collaboration on scientific data with the major companies working offshore in Alaska’s Arctic.
Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, made several stops in the state with Begich, who is chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Ocean, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, which oversees NOAA.
One stop Lubchenco made was on Aug. 23 to discuss Cook Inlet concerns with local companies.
Begich led off comments on Cook Inlet by telling Lubchenco that the Municipality of Anchorage where Begich was mayor before being elected to the U.S. Senate, owns one-third of the Beluga gas field through its electric utility, Municipal Light & Power. He said there is a critical need for natural gas in Cook Inlet.
Beluga recovery important Jason Brune, former executive director of the Resource Development Council, told Lubchenco that RDC led a group focused on Cook Inlet beluga whales for 11 years. That group, he said, is seeing recovery of the beluga population.
The population problem with belugas came from over hunting by subsistence users in the 1990s, Brune said, citing the National Marine Fisheries Service for that information.
He stressed impacts on industry from critical habitat designation for beluga whales and said the critical habitat designation also increases the risk of litigation.
Lubchenco responded that while it would be nice to “dial back” and fix what happened to belugas earlier, we have to fix what’s there now and have to focus on the critical habitat issue now.
She said it would be necessary to find creative ways to protect species and allow for development.
Begich noted that on the issue of what caused the decrease in belugas, the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility is required to do studies every year (AWWU discharges treated water into the inlet) and has been repeatedly told by the Environmental Protection Agency that it is not part of the problem.
It is important to make sure that the stocks of belugas rebuild, but also important to recognize the cause and not blanket everyone because of a problem not caused by everyone, Begich said.
Appropriate information Eric Fjelstad, an attorney with Perkins Coie, said he hears from industry a concern about appropriate information being required for different stages. With exploration drilling, he said, there is a 50 percent chance that nothing will be found, which is different than development when a field will be in production of decades. It’s an issue of how much is enough at the drilling stage, he said.
Lubchenco responded that different actions do have different possible impacts, but said there is increasing appreciation that to do justice to species we need a more comprehensive look at activities with impacts or potential impacts.
Fire Island problems Ethan Schutt, senior vice president, land and energy development for Cook Inlet Region Inc., told Lubchenco that CIRI has to balance its roles as a large landowner and a resource owner and project proponent.
He said there was a concern with broad-brush application of critical habitat, and said CIRI would like the agency to refine the critical habitat area around areas belugas use, and how they use different area. Schutt said that when other agencies see an area as critical habitat, no use at all is allowed. At Fire Island, where CIRI is developing a wind farm, it can’t have anything in the water, not even temporary buoys for mooring, he said.
Lubchenco noted that critical habitat is designed to protect not just immediate areas used by the species but some of the rest of the community they depend on.
Pat Carter of Hilcorp, which is acquiring Chevron’s Cook Inlet interests, said Hilcorp is a new player, but is concerned. He said he hopes the law of unintended consequences doesn’t end up with an impact on an industry that hasn’t been shown to have an impact on belugas.
Lubchenco said that with the beluga population so small in Cook Inlet, and endangered, all things that could affect them must be taken into account. She said she doesn’t think it’s appropriate to say none of industry’s actions impact belugas now, because the population is so small. Just because something else caused the decline, actions may impact the species now, she said.
Agreement After the Cook Inlet discussion Lubchenco signed, along with representatives of Shell Exploration & Production, ConocoPhillips and Statoil USA E&P, an agreement to enhance collaboration on ocean, coastal and climate science for the Arctic.
Types of data the companies have agreed to share with the government address issues including: meteorology; coastal and ocean currents, circulation and waves; sea ice studies; biological science; and hydrographic services and mapping.
Signing for Shell, the company’s Alaska vice president, Pete Slaiby, said the companies have worked together and while this formal step to share data with NOAA will place large amounts of important data in the agency’s hands, additional data will be required.
Asked what additional data would be needed, Slaiby noted that Shell is not collecting data on the open-water season. If the company finds resources to develop, it will need to capture additional data, he said, noting that the company is already looking at potential onshore pipeline routes.
In a statement issued after the signing Lubchenco said: “Despite the wealth of scientific research conducted on the Arctic environment to date, much remains unknown, and no single government agency or entity has the resources or capacity to meet the task alone.”
She said the agreement “will significantly expand NOAA’s access to important data, enhance our understanding of the region and improve the United States’ ability to manage critical environmental issues efficiently and effectively as climate change continues to impact the Arctic.”
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