Revised Analysis for Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193 Released7 Public Hearings ScheduledBy MARY KAUFFMAN
November 03, 2014
“After a robust and thorough process, BOEM has prepared a Draft Supplemental EIS that addresses the issues identified by the court regarding the Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193,”said BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “In the analysis released today, BOEM used a new exploration and development scenario to evaluate the potential environmental effects of oil and gas activities associated with Lease Sale 193. We look forward to receiving additional public input as we continue to take a balanced approach to the safe and responsible energy development in the region.” The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management prepared the revised analysis in accordance with the April 24, 2014, remand order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. The original Environmental Impact Statement for Lease Sale 193 was published in 2007 and the sale was conducted in 2008. Subsequent legal challenges and federal court decisions remanded the sale back to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for further analysis, specifically related to the agency’s estimates of production levels from likely offshore oil fields that might be developed in the Chukchi Sea. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published a Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in June 2014. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the analysis in the Draft SEIS issued Friday uses the best available data – including actual bidding data – to estimate the highest amount of production that could reasonably result from Lease Sale 193. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management predicts a higher exploration and production scenario than previous analyses, based on a better understanding about existing geologic structures in the region as well as improved information about where industry operators are likely to focus their development activities. Earlier this year, Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a suspension of operations for all Chukchi leases issued in Lease Sale 193, which stops the lease term from running while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completes this supplemental environmental review. The suspension remains in effect until the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completes its environmental review, as directed by the court. A spokesman for Shell Offshore Co. in Alaska told the Oil and Gas Journal, “We appreciate the release of the draft and are reviewing it." The Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary asked the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement for a 5-year extension of its leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in July because circumstances beyond its control are preventing it from completing even its first exploration well reported the Oil and Gas Journal. The draft study, a 655-page report released Friday by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, estimates Shell could produce as much as 4.3 billion barrels of oil from the area, higher than original estimates of just 1 billion. But it also details a 75 percent chance of an oil spill, which has spurred on environmental groups who were already opposed to the project. The draft supplemental EIS released Friday contains a revised prediction of the level of oil industry activities that could occur as a result of the lease sale. Although conservation groups have just begun to review the draft, they say it appears to show the effects of leasing in the Chukchi Sea could be catastrophic. For example, under its new analysis, the Interior acknowledges that there is a 75 percent chance that one or more large oil spills (more than 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, of oil) would occur if the leases are developed. Currently it is thought there is no way effectively to clean up or contain an oil spill in Arctic Ocean conditions. Friday’s announcement comes on the heels of new information that companies are seeking to have the leases they purchased in Lease Sale 193 extended and are arguing that safety and prevention rules are unnecessary and too costly. It also follows Shell’s failed attempts to drill exploration wells in the Arctic Ocean in 2012. In a letter from Shell to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a request is made that Bureau take the unprecedented step of suspending leases retroactively for years as the company was unable to drill exploration wells in the U.S. Arctic Ocean. The letter, dated July 14, 2014, which was obtained by Oceana as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, appears to justify the request on the grounds that: 1) the company has spent a lot of money, much of which cannot be recouped; and 2) the problems Shell encountered were unforeseen and not its fault. In its letter, Shell identifies “factors,” including accommodating Native whaling, government failures brought to light in successful lawsuits and agency appeals, and proposed new regulations, as having prevented it from exploring. Acknowledgements in the letter about the difficulties of operating in the Arctic come on the heels of Shell’s arguments to the White House Office of Management and Budget that Arctic-specific safety and prevention regulations are unnecessary and too costly. Shell paid $2.1 billion to the United States government in 2008 to lease the area. Since then, Shell has spent $6 billion exploring the region. Millions of Americans have asked the Obama administration to stop drilling in the Arctic Ocean based on these poor analyses and decisions. Some believe that arctic drilling is far too risky which was proven by Shell’s disastrous 2012 program that involved near-misses, fires, investigations, pollution violations, and fines, and ended with its drilling rig grounded near Kodiak, Alaska. “The courts have twice sent back this ill-advised decision to open the Chukchi Sea to dirty oil drilling. Today’s draft impact statement confirms again that drilling in the Chukchi Sea puts Arctic people and wildlife at risk from major oil spills that could not be cleaned or contained. It also puts the climate at risk. Drilling for more oil in the rapidly melting Arctic Ocean adds climate insult to climate injury,” said Earthjustice Staff Attorney Erik Grafe. “The lease sale decision is a golden opportunity for the Obama administration to show climate leadership by deciding to keep the Chukchi Sea off limits to drilling.” “America’s Arctic is no place for risky and reckless drilling,” said Cindy Shogan, Executive Director for Alaska Wilderness League. “After examining all of the impacts of Lease Sale 193, the Obama administration should conclude that no leasing should proceed in the Chukchi Sea. In 2012, the nation was transfixed as Shell crashed its Arctic drilling rig into Sitkalidak Island, Alaska proving that no oil company should be drilling in Arctic conditions. It is time for the Obama administration to protect America’s Arctic Ocean. It is unsafe, dangerous and irresponsible to drill there.” Americans have previously asked the Obama administration to stop drilling in the Arctic Ocean based on these poor analyses and decisions. There are conservationalists who believe that Arctic drilling is far too risky - proven by Shell’s disastrous 2012 program that involved near-misses, fires, investigations, pollution violations, and fines, and ended with its drilling rig grounded near Kodiak, Alaska. Scientists from around the world have expressed concern for this vulnerable region - the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, which is wreaking havoc on the unique wildlife and Alaska Native communities that depend on the ocean. Drilling can only make this situation worse, adding insult to injury by risking the most climate-stressed region on Earth to explore for oil that will only fuel further warming. Twelve environmental organizations jointly said the draft SEIS confirms there should be no drilling for crude oil in the Chukchi Sea. “The courts have twice sent back this ill-advised decision to open the Chukchi Sea to dirty oil drilling. Today’s draft impact statement confirms again that drilling in the Chukchi Sea puts Arctic people and wildlife at risk from major oil spills that could not be cleaned or contained. It also puts the climate at risk. Drilling for more oil in the rapidly melting Arctic Ocean adds climate insult to climate injury,” said Earthjustice Staff Attorney Erik Grafe. “The lease sale decision is a golden opportunity for the Obama administration to show climate leadership by deciding to keep the Chukchi Sea off limits to drilling.” “America’s Arctic is no place for risky and reckless drilling,” said Cindy Shogan, Executive Director for Alaska Wilderness League. “After examining all of the impacts of Lease Sale 193, the Obama administration should conclude that no leasing should proceed in the Chukchi Sea. In 2012, the nation was transfixed as Shell crashed its Arctic drilling rig into Sitkalidak Island, Alaska proving that no oil company should be drilling in Arctic conditions. It is time for the Obama administration to protect America’s Arctic Ocean. It is unsafe, dangerous and irresponsible to drill there.” “The Arctic Ocean is an incredible resource that supports strong wildlife and bird communities, including globally-significant Important Bird Areas, that cannot be protected in the case of an oil spill. It’s disappointing to see BOEM seemingly rush an analysis out just so Shell can follow-up its disastrous 2012 Arctic Ocean drilling season with another effort that endangers the birds and wildlife of the Arctic,” said Jim Adams, Policy Director for Audubon Alaska. “As the climate crisis unfolds, walruses are cramming themselves onto Alaska beaches by the tens of thousands and polar bears are starving. Adding noisy drill ships and the risk of oil spills to the rapidly melting Arctic is a recipe for disaster. If President Obama is serious about his climate legacy he’ll put a stop to dangerous fuel development in America’s Arctic Ocean,” said Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Director, Center for Biological Diversity. There's no such thing as safe oil exploration, drilling and transport - there will be spills. As we represent community members, Natives, fishermen and families still impacted by the devastation of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, do hear us as we say NO to drilling in the Chukchi Sea, said Dune Lankard, Eyak Preservation Council. “Instead of exposing one of the world’s most pristine ocean ecosystems to industrial-scale fossil fuel development, the Administration must seize this opportunity to quickly and clearly shift away from any drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean,” said Chuck Clusen, Director, National Parks and Alaska Projects, Natural Resources Defense Council. “The third time is not the charm,” Susan Murray, Deputy Vice President, Pacific for Oceana. “The American people deserve more than another attempt to justify a poorly planned and evaluated lease sale. As Shell has demonstrated, companies are not ready to operate safely in the Arctic Ocean. Our government has no business selling leases there.” “The Chukchi Sea provides important habitat for many special animals, including walruses, bowhead whales, seals, polar bears and migratory birds. Drilling for oil and gas in this vulnerable region could have enormous impacts—and there’s no proven way to clean up a major oil spill in these waters,” said Andrew Hartsig, Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Arctic Program. “Lease Sale 193 should not be affirmed. Instead, the Obama Administration should focus on protecting important marine areas in the Chukchi Sea and other parts of the Arctic Ocean.” “Whether it will be from an almost inevitable oil spill, or from the unavoidable noises from seismic surveys, vessel and platform stabilization, underwater acoustic communications, seafloor hydrocarbon processing, and re-injection well compressors; we know that oil and gas operations will disrupt the habitat for Arctic marine life which we know so little about - and upon which we may very well depend. Opening the Arctic to fossil fuel extraction is just plain reckless,” said Michael Stocker, Director, Ocean Conservation Research. “The Arctic’s marine environment is relatively pristine, yet fragile and extremely vulnerable to potential oil impacts. It is clear that the oil industry is not prepared to drill safely in Arctic waters. What’s at stake here is one of the important ecosystems on the planet and food security of indigenous peoples who depend on these Arctic marine waters for sustenance,” said Kevin Harun, Arctic Program Director, Pacific Environment. “America's Arctic Ocean is the last place we should be drilling for oil. The risks to wildlife, to subsistence communities, and to the climate are clear. Equally clear is the need for the U.S. to take a leadership role on climate, especially as it takes over the Arctic Council next year. Real progress on climate requires the administration begin leaving dirty fuels in the ground, starting with the Arctic Ocean,” said Dan Ritzman, Alaska Program Director for Sierra Club's Our Wild America Campaign. “Shell’s disastrous 2012 Arctic Ocean drilling and transport operations demonstrate that even technically advanced and well-resourced companies are no match for Arctic conditions and the challenges of getting to and from there,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska Regional Director for The Wilderness Society. Whittington-Evans said, “The Obama administration should reconsider moving forward with offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean, particularly in light of climate change and the administration’s aim to reduce carbon emissions.” The Notice of Availability for the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 7, initiating a 45-day public comment period, which will end Monday, Dec. 22. During this time, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold seven public hearings in Alaska, will conduct government-to-government consultation meetings with Alaska Native tribes, and will also accept public comments through regulations.gov. The Draft Supplemental EIS is available at: www.boem.gov/ak193/ PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULE Nov. 17 Kotzebue (NWAB Assm Chambers)
Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews
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