Obama Administration OKs Oil Drilling in Arctic off Alaska

[IndianaGreen]

Source: McClatchy

Published on Monday, December 7, 2009 by McClatchy Newspapers

Obama Administration OKs Oil Drilling in Arctic off Alaska
by Erika Bolstad

WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department today gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for production in a new region of the Arctic.

WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department today gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for production in a new region of the Arctic.

"This is progress," said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "Today's announcement from the MMS is an encouraging sign that Alaska's oil and natural gas resources can continue to play a major role in America's energy security."

The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service signed off on a plan that allows Shell to drill up to three exploration wells during the July-to-October open-water drilling season. The company's proposal calls for using one drill ship, one ice management vessel, an ice-class anchor-handling vessel and oil spill response vessels, the Interior Department said. The closest proposed drill site is more than 60 miles to shore and about 80 miles from Wainwright.

"Our approval of Shell's plan is conditioned on close monitoring of Shell's activities to ensure that they are conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today in a statement announcing his decision. "These wells will allow the department to develop additional information and to evaluate the feasibility of future development in the Chukchi Sea.

Shell, Conoco Phillips and other companies last year paid more than $2 billion for leases in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. The companies and state officials believe the offshore reserves could power the Alaska economy for decades.


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/80196.html

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Drill, baby, drill! :puke:

[polichick]

1. My God, yet another move McCain would've made. nt

[beyond cynical]

44. If you would just stop driving and using electricity we wouldn't need anymore energy.

[LisaM]

2. Did we elect McCain and Palin?

No, we didn't. So we shouldn't be sending more troops to Afghanistan and we shouldn't be drilling in the Arctic.

How depressing.

[New Dawn]

37. Barohn O'Palin

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. Pillage while the pillaging's good...

Yee Haw for Shell, Conoco etc.!

[WriteDown]

4. Hard to keep up with the change. nt

[Cant trust em]

8. Obama is making a mockery out of his own campaign slogan. nt

[polichick]

13. Purposely or coincidentally? I can't tell. nt

[RedSock]

35. just words to suck in the suckers ...

drill, baby, drill

[TheCML]

5. Who cares!?!?!

Did you hear about Tiger Woods?



:banghead:

[marshall]

16. I wonder what "tips" he could offer?

Very strange timing.

[Cant trust em]

6. Uggg....

[MichiganVote]

7. Waitin' on that change thing...ok, anytime now...how about it...bring it on...

[berni_mccoy]

9. Misleading title: Drilling Leases PAID FOR and APPROVED During the BUSH ADMINISTRATION.

The Obama administration is putting these leases under review.

[tabasco]

20. Don't confuse the haters with facts

right in the middle of a five-minute hate.

[EFerrari]

30. Thank goodness Obama isn't in office yet and can't do anything about this!

[tabasco]

33. 3 exploratory wells for leases that were approved under Bush.

Obama administration is reviewing the leases.

You may now return to your dumbassery.

[EFerrari]

34. Save it for someone who buys it.

"WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department today gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for production in a new region of the Arctic."

[tabasco]

36. Well, I called that one. n/t

[Zhade]

38. It's not like orahma hasn't lied to us. Repeatedly.

NT!

[joeybee12]

47. No, they ghave the go-ahead, the Interior Department can cancel the leases...

...stop calling people dumbasses when you don't know what you're talking about.

[waterscalm]

40. +1

[t0dd]

46. +2

[Deja Q]

29. +1

[lamp_shade]

39. The "knee jerkers" around here don't care. It's gotten laughable.

[Javaman]

42. So what part of this sentence don't you understand?

"WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department today gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for production in a new region of the Arctic."

[lamp_shade]

57. Like I said.... laughable.

[Javaman]

66. good explanation?

:shrug:

another vapid defense of the undefendable.

[joeybee12]

48. Um, do you know anything? Do you know the Interior can cancel the leases

instead of letting them go forward? Salazar is a joke. Obama doesn't give a shit about the environment.

[lamp_shade]

58. Like I said... laughable.

[dorkulon]

65. Yeah, you just keep saying that.

Hope it makes you feel better.

[bhikkhu]

10. I have to say, I think its a good idea

...and what they ok'd was exploration.

The whole issue has been a big over-hyped political tool for both sides for way too long, while there's been little exploration at all. Wild exaggerations on the right are common, like if they could just drill there all our problems are solved.

Enough unbiased geologists think there's just not much oil to find there that I'd just as soon get the thing over with. If there's nothing, then game over - we can find something new to argue about and leave ANWAR and the rest of the coastline in peace. In the unlikely case that there's a pile of new oil, the odds of it not being found and brought up in our lifetime were pretty close to zero anyway.

[MilesColtrane]

11. As long as the Dept. of Interior keeps a close watch on Shell.

If they are talking about wells in the Chukchi, off the northwest shore, the nearest wildlife preserve is over 200+ miles away.

Looks like there are already some wells in the Chukchi Sea, and there are hundreds right next to the Alaska National Wildlife Preserve.




A Google Earth layer showing the oil fileds of the Alaska North Slope and the Green outline of the ANWR. The Red outline shows the extent of the 1002 area, and the white line is sections 1-8 of the Alaska Oil Pipeline.

[swilton]

12. Announced to Coincide with the Copenhagen Summit

Along with the announcement of taking gray wolves off of the endangered species list, I can hardly wait to see what other proactive environmental measures await us

:sarcasm:

[waterscalm]

14. ...

:scared:

[ShortnFiery]

55. All us little people can do is take care of our own folks locally, and pray to our Higher Power ...

that all the EVIL greed and arrogance will come back to bite these people in the ass.

I have great hope in the power of KARMA. :thumbsup:

[tandot]

15. You "accidentally" forgot to add that little gem:

"The Bush administration's five-year plan for oil and gas exploration off the U.S. coast is under review by the Obama administration. Salazar has held public hearings, including a meeting in April in Anchorage where then-Gov. Sarah Palin and her replacement, Sean Parnell, spoke in favor of offshore development. The agency is still considering whether to let the plan continue through 2012 or write a new one."

[Skittles]

17. what, no cheerleaders yet???

[tabasco]

22. See post #9

idiot.

[David Zephyr]

31. I was thinking the same thing.

Where are the disciples?

[Bushknew]

18. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly

they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them.

Matthew 7:15-16

[polichick]

21. I must admit that this verse has come to mind a few times lately. nt

[Bushknew]

23. I think it's good common sense, whether you believe in the bible or not.....

Actions speak louder than words.

No honey, I'll never cheat, drink or hit you ever again.

I'm a uniter not a divider.

The list is endless.....

[polichick]

24. There's also a saying about watching to see where somebody spends his money...

...because it shows where his values are.

Obama's money is political capital, and it's pretty interesting where he spends it and where he hoards it.

[Politicub]

19. My... what a brillant game of political chess Pres. Obama is playing

By destroying the coast of Alaska, he takes the oil drilling issue off the table. Brillant. In your face, Republicans.

Now republicans can't run on drilling because we are drilling instead.

So smart and so cunning. Checkmate fishes.

/sarcasm

:puke:

[MilesColtrane]

25. The article says the wells would be more than 60 miles off the coast.

[Javaman]

43. Well, whew, that's good, because we all know nothing lives out there.

:sarcasm:

[joeybee12]

49. Yeah, 60 miles out, the sea can't support anything, oh yeah, and oil

spills can't happen 60 miles out.

[MilesColtrane]

51. A lot of things live in the Gulf of Mexico too.

You must be against all drilling.

[Javaman]

53. Actually, yes I am.

I live in texas and I know what washes up on our beaches and how polluted the gulf is first hand.

[Bushknew]

27. LOL

[BennyD]

50. There may be more truth in your sarcasm than we think.

If there is a chance that the Middle East turns extremely volatile, our energy supplies -currently oil- could be turned on its head. We may be seeing the Obama administration testing the political waters while preparing for the possibility that energy supplies could be threatened. This could indeed be a move to gain support from independents and perhaps a few fiscally conservative people during the 2012 election.

Just a thought.

on edit: including the support of some big money oil companies....like Shell Oil.

[Le Taz Hot]

52. Remember the Alaskan pipeline?

It was supposed to ease our dependency on foreign oil. It was going to make our gas prices plummet. It was going to secure our oil supply for decades to come. Here's a quiz. Can you tell me how much oil that goes through that pipeline has come to the American people? Here's your answer. Zero! They sell it and reap the profits. And remember, the pipeline was subsidized by the American taxpayer.

[BennyD]

56. I know. It's amazing isn't it?!?! n/t

[Steerpike]

61. Hey Taz!

I live in Alaska and I think even when it was legal only about 7% ever was shipped to asia.

From Wiki...

"When the Trans Alaska Pipeline was constructed it was illegal to ship any of the oil from Alaska to other countries. Then during the Clinton Administration when oil was $8 a barrel, that law was changed. For 2 years Alyeska Pipeline Terminal shipped to Japan and South Korea a total of 5 times. They decided that this was not cost effective and now they no longer ship there. This was years ago. Now all the oil goes to refineries in Washington State, California and Hawaii. It provides most of the fuel in the Northwestern States. None of it leaves the country."


also...

this is an exerpt from CRS 2000

"Over 90% of the oil remains in the U.S.

The pipline starts up at the top of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean (Prudhoe Bay) and travels almost straight south for 800 miles to a coastal port in the Alaska Gulf of Alaska at Valdez.
From there it is shipped to the lower 48 states for refining.

About 7% of crude oil production from the Alaska North Slope (ANS) is currently exported to South Korea, Japan, and China. Bills have been passed prohibing the exporting.

"S. 2275, Oil Supply Improvement Act - provides that no crude transported over the pipeline right of way be exported."

[Le Taz Hot]

62. After doing further research I find I am the victim

or urban legend and I stand corrected. Although I never rely on Wikipedia (See Stephen Colbert and the "Elephant" story), I did do further research from legitimate sources and found you are correct.

I hereby take back my statement.

[Steerpike]

63. You know

I always like the cut of your jib.

[TheWebHead]

26. I don't remember the campaign pledge promising all offshore oil drilling

would be ceased if Obama was elected last year... This isn't ANWR. The choice people make on energy is that the republicans would indiscriminately approve drilling anywhere if requested, while Democrats would do it on the basis of which areas pose the lesser environmental impact.

[jtrockville]

28. drill baby drill :(

[David Zephyr]

32. K&R.

Pinch me, someone.

Halloween is over isn't it? Why is Obama still wearing the George Bush mask?

[Javaman]

41. Absolutely hysterical!!!

did failin go down on Obama? LOL

the reality is this, they can drill all the fucking "exploratory" wells they want. Even if they find oil, not a drop will come out of the ground for another 10 years.

The basic fact is this, regardless of climate change and how much the Arctic is melting away, it's still fucking cold up there and will be for some time, as a result, that limits the amount of time any company can work in that environment.

They can work, at best, 6 months out of the year.

Now, just because you drill for something, doesn't mean you will find it.

This is just more stupidity and sucking up to the right wing morons. For what fucking reason? I have no idea.

Yayyy!!!! It appears as if teh stupid is making a return to the national stage.

Weeee!!!!

[Doctor_J]

45. If McPalin were doing all of this stuff, I wouldn't feel responsible

as it is... :-(

[ShortnFiery]

54. Every decision Obama makes now is in favor of Big Oil, the MIC or Wall Street.

He's LOST his base "Liberal Democrats" for good.

His Orwell isn't that talented nor are there enough DRUGS out their to "adjust our consciousness" to make us believe in him EVER AGAIN.

[mitchtv]

59. Can nuclear power plants be far behind ?

they're sooo clean

[wpsedgwick]

60. Other much larger issues

Really, in the grand sceme, this isn't a big deal. We still use oil, and will for a long LONG time to come. At least this project is being carefully scrutinized by the government and will be governed by very specific regulatory limitations. Lets focus on the big picture - namely the fact that the U.S. is participating fully in the Copenhagen climate talks this week. Something our government has not done in years.

[GliderGuider]

64. I'm in favour of it, but not for the reason you might think.

According to geologists whose paychecks don't depend on oil wells, there just isn't that much oil up there. The whole "drill, baby, drill" meme has been a RW political football for way too long. The sooner we get the hype over and done with the happier I'll be. Drilling a few more dry holes isn't going to damage the global environment much more than we have already.

It will finally shut the RW mouths on this issue, and maybe get across to a few more people the inconvenient truth that the Age of Oil is drawing to a close and it's past time to get on with the coming changes.