Oil exploration one step closer in northeast NPRA

ARCTIC SOUNDER STAFF
tbenyosef@alaskanewspapers.com

July 16, 2008 at 12:49PM AKST

The Bureau of Land Management plans to hold a lease sale this fall in the northeast portion of National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, officials in Washington D.C announced today.

 “This action sets the stage for a major lease sale this fall. This is welcome news at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the pump,” said C. Stephen Allred, assistant secretary for Land and Minerals.

At the same lease sale, the BLM also plans to offer land in the northwest portion of the NPR-A.

This lease sale has been derailed for at least two years after much legal action including a lawsuit by several conservation organizations and the North Slope Borough that challenged the completeness of the data included in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

“The rapid increase in energy costs facing our nation is driven by a worldwide imbalance in energy supply and demand,” Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said.

“Developing the NPR-A in an environmentally sound manner will contribute to our domestic oil and natural gas supplies. Together with new production from other offshore and onshore areas, these increased supplies will help stabilize energy costs.”

The bureau estimates that about 8.4 billion barrels of oil can be produced from lands in the Northeast and Northwest portions of NPRA, in addition to trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.

 “This decision provides for the protection of high value wildlife, including waterfowl and caribou, and meets the subsistence needs of North Slope residents while making lands with oil and gas potential available for leasing," said BLM-Alaska State Director Tom Lonnie.

The plan includes protections for the polar bear, including requirements to consider impacts on areas used by polar bears for denning.

Additionally, with the listing of the polar bear the agency will continue to work closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on future oil and gas activities.

According to the Record of Decision signed by Allred, the BLM defers leasing for 10 years on land currently unavailable for leasing north and east of Teshekpuk Lake.