Alaska Native and environmental groups have sued to stop exploration by oil companies this summer in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas frequented by whales, seals and other marine species.
The groups are challenging federal permits that allow Shell and BP to undertake seismic exploration using powerful acoustic devices that can harm marine animals.

A judge has told the US government to decide within weeks whether to list polar bears as an endangered species.
The federal judge rejected the Bush administration’s pleas for a further delay, and ordered it to make and implement its decision by 15 May. A listing could restrict oil and gas exploration in the US Arctic, […]

The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani has said the country will likely drop oil service contracts with foreign companies if they don’t have their proposals finalized by a June deadline and will move forward with the work on its own.
“June is already a bit late… We may drop them if they aren’t signed soon ( […]

Alaska officials have rejected Exxon Mobil’s latest plans to develop the giant Point Thomson oil and natural-gas field, setting up a legal showdown to determine whether the state can revoke the lease.
The move is the latest sign of how testy the relationship between Alaska and oil companies has grown in recent months as state officials […]

When engineers first turned the spigot on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPs) in 1977, they thought it would run for about 30 years. But with its 31st anniversary approaching in June, the pipeline is supposedly primed for another 30 years.
As producers continue to find ways to squeeze more oil from the frozen North Slope, a […]