ConocoPhillips to increase investment in Alaska
ConocoPhillips plans to increase its investments on Alaska’s North Slope following the Alaska State Legislature’s recent changes to the state’s oil severance tax system.
“We have always believed, and communicated, that Alaska’s North Slope is a resource-rich area,” said Trond-Erik Johansen, president of ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. “But developing oil from the North Slope’s legacy fields and new satellite fields has become increasingly challenging, costly and technology intensive. In addition, our ongoing efforts to renew aging facilities and pipeline infrastructure in order to ensure long-term safety and operational reliability will continue to require significant capital investment.”
With the improvements to Alaska’s severance tax system, ConocoPhillips is planning new work on the North Slope, including bringing an additional rig into Kuparuk this spring, working with coowners on funding for a new drill site on the southwest fl ank of the Kuparuk River Field, and entering the regulatory/permitting activities phase and progressing the engineering for the Greater Moose’s Tooth Unit in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
“These are some examples of the activities ConocoPhillips plans to kick off in the near future to help bring new investments and produce more oil from legacy and satellite fields,” said Johansen. “ConocoPhillips is here for the long-term. The new oil tax bill makes the North Slope a more attractive business environment and should lead to more investment in oil producing projects than we have seen in recent years.”
AOGA to file suit challenging listing of seals
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) announced its intent to file a lawsuit challenging recent federal decisions to list certain populations of Arctic bearded and ringed seals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
There is no scientific evidence linking climate change now or in the future to adverse effects on these species, AOGA said, noting that scientific data shows bearded and ringed seal populations to be healthy, abundant, and thriving.
“AOGA members have always been committed to protecting the species of wildlife we interact with during the course of doing business,” said Kara Moriarty, Executive Director for AOGA. She said there is no evidence that oil and gas activities are a present or foreseeable threat to ringed and bearded seals.
“Restrictions on activity must be based on the scientific record and consistent with the law,” Moriarty said. “Unfortunately, we believe these listings are flawed and misguided.”
AOGA opposes the listings because if it is lawful to list Arctic bearded and ringed seals as threatened when their populations are currently healthy, abundant, and wide ranging, and are experiencing no adverse effects linked to climate change, then it is possible to list any and virtually all species on the basis of unsupported speculation.
“NMFS’ decisions, in our opinion, are not consistent with its own policy or the best available science,” Moriarty said. “The decisions to list bearded and ringed seals are based on speculation regarding how climate change might affect these species 100 years from now, despite their populations currently being healthy and abundant. That’s bad precedent for making evidence-based decisions that have real impacts for Alaska.”
RDC remains concerned on wood bison release
While RDC generally supports the goal of recovering wild populations of wood bison, it remains concerned that reintroduction of the species into Alaska may have significant impacts on economic and recreational activities.
In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, RDC said it is not opposed to reintroduction of wood bison at the proposed lower Innoko/Yukon River site, but it strongly objects to any reintroduction in the Minto Flats or Yukon Flats locations.
Many questions and uncertainty remain regarding the reintroduction of wood bison into Interior Alaska. Even if the wood bison are classified as a nonessential experimental population, nearly all actions under the Endangered Species Act are federal decisions subject to complex litigation, RDC noted.
RDC said neither the federal government nor the State of Alaska can guarantee that resource development will not be impacted in the future. Because of such uncertainty, wood bison should only be reintroduced into areas without significant, developable natural resources, RDC suggested. Therefore, the final rule should be limited to the lower Innoko/Yukon River location with specific protections for landowners, RDC said.
Alaska Harbor Seals may hurt tourism
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and request for comments regarding Alaska Harbor Seals.
The seal is already protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and additional protections may be unnecessary, RDC noted.
“Any action by NMFS may potentially impact the visitor industry, with little to no added benefit to the Harbor Seal,” said RDC Projects Coordinator Marleanna Hall.
NMFS is requesting public comments on whether regulations are needed, and if so, what types of measures would be appropriate to protect harbor seals from the effects of vessel activity in glacial habitats. The deadline to submit comments is May 13, 2013.
Final NPR-A plan is set back for industry, Alaska
Despite requests from the State, Alaska’s congressional delegation, and the oil and gas industry, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has refused to amend or alter its draft management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). DOI’s final plan closes half of the energy reserve to oil and gas development.
“The decision locks up valuable resources in an area that was specifically set aside to function as a petroleum reserve and disregards what the people of Alaska asked for,” said Kara Moriarty, Executive Director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. “While the decision does accommodate for a potential pipeline corridor, it is almost a moot point when the most promising areas of the reserve are off limits to development.”
Moriarty noted NPR-A holds great promise for oil and gas development, which is welcomed news for a state that continues to grapple with declining oil production. “The DOI’s decision, however, makes future development of the NPR-A’s resources less likely, and that’s a lose-lose for both the State of Alaska and the people who call it home,” Moriarty said.
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