Offshore Drilling

The Obama administration is fighting back against a lawsuit brought by the State of Alaska in September over a federal moratorium on offshore drilling in the Arctic. Gov. Sean Parnell says he wants federal officials to lift the ban, put in place after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, to allow Shell Oil to move forward with drilling in the Beaufort Sea by next summer. But in paperwork filed late Friday, the Department of Justice says the state's lawsuit won't hold up in court, and that the Interior Department is still in the process of considering Shell's proposals for its Arctic projects.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, May 13, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Representatives from the fishing industry discussed some of the problems with offshore drilling during a teleconference Thursday. Ocean acidification is a big worry to environmentalists and fishermen, who say the government needs to help consumers reduce their use of fossil fuels. They also said they are appalled that the oil industry is still using outdated response measures to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and disappointed that cleanup technology hasn't kept up with drilling technology.

In another of the Top 10 stories of 2010, reporter Ted Land takes a look at Shell Oil Co.'s quest to tap into Arctic oil. The company is still feeling the effects of a disastrous interruption. In late April, BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers and spewing oil nearly 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico for 3 ½ months. It is the worst spill in U.S. history. President Barack Obama’s administration quickly promised to reorganize the way it regulates industry and in the meantime, announced a moratorium on further offshore drilling.

The State of Alaska is suing the federal government over what it says is an illegal moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Arctic -- but federal officials say the lawsuit is pointless because there is no moratorium. Gov. Sean Parnell and Attorney General Dan Sullivan announced the lawsuit at a press conference Thursday afternoon. At issue: a suspension of offshore drilling in the Arctic because of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. "The federal government has to abide by the law when they impose a moratorium," Parnell said.

by Rhonda McBride Tuesday, May 11, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Interior Secretary's Ken Salazar's announcement to split the Minerals Management Service into two separate agencies fueled fears that the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster will have economic fallout for Alaska. Fadel Gheit, a Wall Street oil and gas analyst, says economists are expecting a worldwide slowdown in offshore drilling. As Americans take in images of the fuel spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaskans wonder what it means to the state's big bread winners: oil and gas.  "The entire industry will face more hurdles going forward," said Scott Goldsmith with the Institute of Social and Economic Research.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new plan for offshore drilling Wednesday, which would prevent drilling in the East Coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico -- but allow drilling in several regions of Alaska. While Outer Continental Shelf oil drilling would be prohibited through 2017 in the eastern Gulf, which remains under a congressional moratorium, potential drilling would be considered in other Gulf regions, as well as Alaska’s Cook Inlet and the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

by Rhonda McBride Tuesday, June 15, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Congress was flooded with bills Tuesday in response to the Gulf disaster. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has proposed a bill that covers a lot of territory.  Mukowski's bill is called "The Oil Spill Compensation Act of 2010. " The bill aims to give the president, congress and the coast guard more authority and more tools to compensate victims. The proposed legislation would allow the president to set liability when a lease is awarded.

Shell Oil Company's exploration plan for summer 2012 offshore drilling in the Chukchi Sea was conditionally approved by the Department of the Interior on Friday. Among the conditions in the approval is a measure which requires Shell to cease drilling in areas where there may be oil, 38 days before the start of November, a time when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) anticipates the sea will freeze over. The open water season in the Arctic, during which exploration is feasible, lasts just a few months, July through October.

GULF OF MEXICO   Lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico under the 2007-2012 program are currently scheduled to proceed in late 2011 or early 2012, after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) completes appropriate environmental analyses.   Interior will also soon begin public meetings and environmental analysis to inform decisions about when and where lease sales in portions of the Gulf of Mexico currently not under congressional moratorium will be held during 2012-2017.

A public forum on offshore drilling is being held in Anchorage Thursday. It's part of a series of forums held around the nation by the Interior Department. The forum will look at deepwater drilling and workplace safety, as well as oil spill response. The results of the forums will be used by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to evaluate and modify the deepwater drilling ban that was announced in July. The public is encouraged to attend. Doors will open at the Dena'ina Center Thursday at 7 a.m. The event begins at 8 a.m.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the findings from a 60-day review of Shell Oil's Arctic offshore drilling operations Thursday, saying the company “screwed up” in 2012 and that it won't be allowed to continue work until it satisfies federal requirements. The review focused on several issues involving Shell's operations, including problems in Puget Sound testing with the spill-response barge Arctic Challenger's cleanup dome, which delayed its deployment to Alaska.

The Coast Guard has ordered a marine casualty investigation of the Shell Oil-contracted drilling rig Kulluk's Dec. 31 grounding on Sitkalidak Island, a day after it was safely towed to an anchorage about 30 miles away. The news comes as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced an expedited assessment of Shell's 2012 drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The 60-day review, unveiled Tuesday, will examine “operational issues” associated with both the Kulluk and the drillship Noble Discoverer, as well as certification issues with the containment vessel Arctic Challenger and the failure of its containment dome during a Puget Sound test last year.

Anyone planning to step foot on one of Shell's offshore Arctic drilling vessels this summer must first pass an intense two day helicopter safety course. The class, which is taught at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, using the Kenai Central High School swimming pool, tests students' endurance and nerves in a mock helicopter, which simulates a crash at sea. It is at times exhilarating and terrifying, but instructors say the skills taught there just might save lives.

The Obama administration is preparing to open up more areas in Alaska's Arctic to offshore oil and gas exploration, as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar officially handed his plan off to President Obama and Congress Thursday. In a Tuesday morning teleconference from Norway, Salazardetailed a proposed five-year offshore lease plan that includes areas in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The potential lease sale in the Chukchi would take place in 2016. The lease sale for the Beaufort is planned for the following year.

Shell oil secured another important permit needed to drill in the offshore Arctic this summer. The company found out it was granted an EPA air permit for the second of its two drilling rigs, Friday. A handful of applications and other permissions are still in the works, but Shell says it's now secured all of the major permits needed to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas starting in July. Meanwhile, a report released Friday by the federal Government Accountability Office raised concerns about the risks associated with offshore drilling in the Arctic.

The Obama administration approved Shell's oil spill response plan for the Beaufort Sea on Wednesday. It was one of two outstanding federal permissions the company needs to proceed with its Arctic offshore drilling program this summer. Shell is still waiting for an EPA air permit for one of its drilling rigs. The company plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas starting in July. Environmental and some native groups have challenged the process, saying that there is no way to effectively clean up an oil spill in the Arctic.

A fleet of vessels and people are about to head north to Alaska to take part in Shell's historic planned offshore Arctic oil drilling project. This could be one of the busiest summers in recent history for the people of the North Slope, as Shell is very close to its goal of exploring for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. If you know where to look, there are definite signs that something big is on the way. Environmental groups are stepping up their game, so too is the U.S. Coast Guard.

A brand new ice vessel will soon head to the arctic to support Shell Oil's offshore drilling efforts. The Aiviq is currently in Lousiana and was christened on Saturday. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith says the icebreaker was specifically built to work in Alaska's offshore. The company plans to drill oil wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Smith says the company has a number of the permits they need, and this vessel is another step toward oil exploration in Alaska's arctic. "Over two million man hours went into the building of the Aiviq, so really there's a job story here but there's also a technology story as there is really no other vessel like this that has ever been built in the U.S.," says Smith.

Shell Oil Company's exploration plan for summer 2012 offshore drilling in the Chukchi Sea was conditionally approved by the Department of the Interior on Friday. Among the conditions in the approval is a measure which requires Shell to cease drilling in areas where there may be oil, 38 days before the start of November, a time when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) anticipates the sea will freeze over. The open water season in the Arctic, during which exploration is feasible, lasts just a few months, July through October.

Arctic offshore drilling could move closer to development after new language was introduced in the House's 2012 Department of Interior spending bill. Alaska's D.C. delegation is praising language that transfers air quality authority from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Interior Department. “This is a game changer for development in the Arctic,” said Rep. Don Young. "This language is one of the most important steps Congress can take to ensure that responsible development is allowed to go forward in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who serves as the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.