Court rules offshore oil leases in Alaska Arctic are too flawed

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2014/01/22/3285973/appeals-court-rules-offshore-oil.html



The Noble Discoverer prepares for its initial Chukchi Sea drilling operation in this view from the deck of the Tor Viking icebreaker September 8, 2012.

Court rules offshore oil leases in Alaska Arctic are too flawed
By LISA DEMER
January 22, 2014 Updated 7 hours ago

In another blow to offshore oil drilling in the Alaska Arctic, a federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled in favor of environmental and Alaska Native groups and concluded the federal government failed to properly evaluate the scale of oil production that could result from a 2008 lease sale, throwing those leases into question.

Royal Dutch Shell, the biggest leaseholder offshore in Alaska and the only one that's drilled in the Arctic in recent years, said only, "We are reviewing the opinion." The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Department of Interior agency that manages oil lease sales, declined to comment on "pending litigation."

A split three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling against the Department of Interior and oil companies including Shell.

The decision likely will hinder efforts by Shell to drill this year in the Chukchi Sea, where its Burger prospect holds immense promise.