Current:Home > MarketsTrump Administration OK’s Its First Arctic Offshore Drilling Plan-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Trump Administration OK’s Its First Arctic Offshore Drilling Plan
View Date:2024-12-24 00:46:43
Making good on its promise to jump-start Arctic offshore drilling, the Trump administration gave Italian oil company Eni a quick green light on Wednesday to drill exploratory wells off the coast of Alaska.
This is the first Arctic drilling approval under President Donald Trump. It also will be the first exploration project conducted in the U.S. Arctic since Shell’s failed attempt in the Chukchi Sea in 2015.
The approval comes as the administration attempts to overturn former President Barack Obama’s ban of new drilling in federal Arctic waters. Eni’s leases were exempt from Obama’s ban because the leases are not new.
Environmental groups are calling the approval a sign that Trump is doing the bidding of the oil industry. The public had 21 days to review and comment on the exploration plan and 10 days to comment on the environmental impacts, which Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said was insufficient given the potential risks.
“An oil spill here would do incredible damage, and it’d be impossible to clean up,” Monsell said. “The Trump administration clearly cares only about appeasing oil companies, no matter its legal obligations or the threats to polar bears or our planet.”
Eni plans to drill four exploratory wells in December 2017, just before the leases expire at the end of the year.
The wells will be drilled from Spy Island, an existing gravel island in state waters, located three miles off the coast of Alaska. The wells would be the longest extended-reach wells in Alaska—stretching six miles horizontally into an area of shallow federal waters about six feet deep.
“We know there are vast oil and gas resources under the Beaufort Sea, and we look forward to working with Eni in their efforts to tap into this energy potential,” said the Management’s acting director, Walter Cruickshank, in a statement.
Monsell noted that Eni had not pursued exploratory drilling there until its leases were about to expire.
“Approving this Arctic drilling plan at the 11th hour makes a dangerous project even riskier,” she said.
In June, the Center and 12 other environmental organizations, including Earthjustice, Greenpeace, WWF and the Sierra Club, sent comments to BOEM about Eni’s proposed plan. In their comments, the groups said that Eni’s plan failed to adequately assess the extent of environmental harm the project could pose, the likelihood of an oil spill, or how Eni would respond to a large oil spill.
“Eni simply has failed to submit a complete, adequate Exploration Plan and environmental impact analysis, and, accordingly BOEM should rescind its completeness determination and reject Eni’s Exploration Plan,” the groups wrote.
BOEM disagreed, finding that the project would have “no significant impact.”
“Eni brought to us a solid, well-considered plan,” Cruickshank said.
Eni has said it will only drill in the winter when a potential oil spill would be easier to clean up and when whales are not migrating in the area.
Before Eni can drill, it will have to secure additional permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
veryGood! (4618)
Related
- Skiing legend Lindsey Vonn ends retirement, plans to return to competition
- Fast-moving San Bernardino wildfire torches hillside community, forcing evacuations
- Save 75% on Lands' End, 70% on Kate Spade, 60% on Beyond Yoga, 60% on Wayfair & Today's Best Deals
- Kehlani's Ex Javaughn Young-White Accuses Her of Being in a Cult
- Beyoncé course coming to Yale University to examine her legacy
- Possible small tornado sweeps into Buffalo, damaging buildings and scattering tree limbs
- Witnesses will tell a federal safety board about the blowout on a Boeing 737 Max earlier this year
- A guide to fire, water, earth and air signs: Understanding the Zodiac elements
- Caitlin Clark's gold Nike golf shoes turn heads at The Annika LPGA pro-am
- Judge in Trump’s hush money case delays date for ruling on presidential immunity
Ranking
- Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era
- What Iran’s attack against Israel could look like with the support of regional allies
- John Travolta and daughter Ella Bleu spotted on rare outing at Paris Olympics
- 'Could've been an email': House of the Dragon finale leaves fans wanting more
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- You Won’t Believe These Expensive-Looking Marble Decor Pieces Are From Target
- Republican congressman who voted to impeach Trump fights to survive Washington primary
- Elon Musk sues OpenAI, renewing claims ChatGPT-maker put profits before ‘the benefit of humanity’
Recommendation
-
Fantasy football buy low, sell high: 10 trade targets for Week 11
-
Taylor Swift adds five opening acts to her August Wembley shows. See the women she picked
-
Olympic medals today: What is the medal count at 2024 Paris Games on Tuesday?
-
Deputy who shot Sonya Massey thought her rebuke ‘in the name of Jesus’ indicated intent to kill him
-
Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
-
Halsey Shares She Once Suffered a Miscarriage While Performing at a Concert
-
Elon Musk sues OpenAI, renewing claims ChatGPT-maker put profits before ‘the benefit of humanity’
-
What does a state Capitol do when its hall of fame gallery is nearly out of room? Find more space