Rebecca Watson, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management, signed the Alpine satellites development plan record of decision Nov. 12.
The decision authorizes the first commercial oil development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
The Bureau of Land Management said the development on land it manages is part of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s proposed expansion of its existing Alpine oil field just to the east of NPR-A. In addition to the two production pads authorized by Interior, the expansion would include three pads outside of BLM jurisdiction.
“This plan is a model environmental approach for the Arctic region. It allows for the energy development our country needs, while protecting the land, water and wildlife. It will show that this, and future Arctic development, can and will be done in an environmentally sensitive way,” Watson said in a statement.
Company’s proposal modified
BLM said the record of decision “modifies the company’s original proposal in order to offer even greater protection to wildlife and sensitive habitats.” Changes include relocating portions of proposed gravel access roads and pipelines outside a three-mile setback for Fish Creek, raising pipelines an additional two feet (to seven feet) to assist migrating caribou, and moving power lines from separate poles to cable trays mounted on pipeline supports.
“We made a number of positive adjustments to reflect considerations raised by the public and agencies,” Henri Bisson, BLM’s Alaska state director, said in a statement. “Several key changes responded specifically to concerns about subsistence issues raised by residents of Nuiqsut,” he said, adding, “It is also important to note that what we are authorizing is consistent with our 1998 leasing plan for this area.”
Bisson said keeping the entire access route outside of the Fish Creek setback would have resulted in greater impact to wetlands and waterfowl habitat than keeping a portion of the access within the setback. “This is why we make exceptions — we look at site-specific data and take the best approach,” he said.
The two pads and associated roads and pipelines approved by Watson will be the first commercial oil and gas development in NPR-A and BLM said production from the first of the five pads could be online by 2006. Alpine is estimated to contain 429 million barrels, and production from the five new pads will tap more than 330 million barrels of additional oil, the agency said.
Company hasn’t sanctioned project
ConocoPhillips also needs permits from state and federal agencies for the Alpine satellite development, and the company has not yet approved project development. ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Knox told Petroleum News Nov. 11 in response to a general question on Alpine satellite development that the company will not sanction the project until it has all of the permits and said it still lacks a key permit from the Corps of Engineers and is working with that agency to address its concerns.
Knox said after the record of decision was signed that ConocoPhillips is pleased that the environmental impact statement part of the process has been completed and “is very appreciative of the efforts of BLM as well as the hard work of all the many other state and federal agencies that have contributed to the EIS process.”
ConocoPhillips has not yet approved the project, she said, and “A final decision to move forward on the Alpine satellite project won’t be sanctioned until the outcome of this remaining permit is known.”
