Statoil, the Norwegian national oil company, has begun a two-year drilling programme in Arctic waters to determine the potential of Norway’s share of one of the world’s few remaining unexplored oil prospects. It also hopes to co-operate with Russian companies such as Gazprom to find oil and gas further into the Arctic, including areas disputed … Read More
Arctic oil
Lake Teshekpuk at Risk From Bush’s Drilling Plan
The Wilderness Society is urging people to oppose the Bush Administration’s plans to sacrifice one of the world’s most important ecosystems in Alaska. Although nearly ninety percent of this region is already open to oil and gas drilling, the ecologically fragile area around Teshekpuk Lake is so important to Native communities and wildlife that it … Read More
Statoil Abandons Oil in Snow White Field
The Associated Press reports that Statoil has announced that a new well shows that it would not be economically viable to produce oil from its newly opened Snow White, or Snoehvit natural gas field in the Arctic. The Barents Sea field, which came on stream this month, was developed as a pure natural gas field. … Read More
Inuit Want Say in Arctic Oil-Rush
Good article in the Christian Science Monitor about the Inuit struggling to get their voice heard in the new Arctic oil rush. As the article says: Five nations are now racing to claim new territory in the central Arctic Ocean, where climate change is expected to open up valuable new shipping routes, oil fields, and … Read More
Ex-Oil Exec Says He Paid Lawmaker
Bill Allen, the former chairman of VECO Corp, has testified that he paid a lawmaker nearly $8,000 to help keep him in office and advocate for the construction of a natural gas pipeline tapping the state’s vast North Slope Reserves. The money was paid to former House Speaker Pete Kott in an inflated invoice for … Read More
Alaska Probes Further Fires at BP
Alaska officials are investigating BP again due to a spate of fires on the North Slope, which come after two years of scrutiny over safety at BP’s U.S. operations. A flaring event earlier this week was the fourth BP fire in the past month, a troubling pattern that could result in some new rules, state … Read More
Mackenzie Pipeline Costs Rise
Costs for the troubled Mackenzie gas pipeline could top the last estimate of C$16.2 billion, “T-Rex” Tillerson, Exxon’s CEO has warned. “It could be C$16 billion or C$14 billion or C$20 billion,” Tillerson reports the Dow Jones newswire. “All we can say is that it’s large, it’s larger than we previously thought.”
Now Denmark Eyes North Pole
The Arctic rush is well and truly on. Hot on the heels of Russia and Canada, Denmark has now started a new polar expedition to explore the region. The aim is to gather data showing whether there is a basis for a possible future Danish claim to parts of the Arctic. If evidence is found … Read More
Court Halts Shell Oil Exploration in Beaufort Sea
The second marine impact story is from Alaska. Oil giant Shell, which was poised to start oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea, cannot proceed until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether the potential for environmental damage was properly considered by the federal agency that issued an exploration permit to the oil company. A … Read More
More Safety Problems for BP at Prudhoe
BP has once again been accused of serious safety breaches after a fire broke out at its Prudhoe Bay operations in Alaska. On August 6 a fire took hold at one of three so-called gathering centres within BP’s Prudhoe Bay operations. According to a letter sent to a congressional committee by long-term oil industry critic … Read More