The U.S. Department of Interior announced Friday it is cancelling future Arctic waters lease sales and will not extend current lease sales off Alaska’s northern coast.
This decision significantly reduces chances for future Arctic offshore drilling.
Today’s announcement follows Royal Dutch Shell’s September 28 resolution to cease exploration after reportedly disappointing results from one well.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell stated in a release, “In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half.”
Federal leases in the Beaufort Sea are due to expire in 2017 and in the Chukchi in 2020.
Governor Bill Walker expressed his disappointment in a release saying, “Alaska must be able to responsibly explore and develop our rich natural resources both onshore and offshore. Any action that limits our ability to explore for more oil—to increase much-needed oil production through the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline—creates unnecessary uncertainty and burden on our economy.”
