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Friday, Aug. 7, 1998
Babbitt OKs oil drilling on North Slope
Official says Alaskan coastal areas must remain protected
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated PressWASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt cleared the way Thursday for oil development in a federal reserve on Alaska's North Slope, but barred drilling in a coastal ``biological wonderland'' that he said must be protected.
Babbitt predicted neither environmentalists nor the oil industry would embrace the plan, which calls for oil leases being sold on about 4 million acres of the government's National Petroleum Reserve west of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields.
But he said it was a balance that met the mandate from Congress to develop oil in the reserve and still protect ecologically sensitive areas that are essential to millions of migratory birds, caribou and other wildlife.
These areas, he said as he recalled a visit to the region a year ago, are ``a biological wonderland . . . an incredible place'' that could be severely damage from oil and gas development.
``This is a good plan based on sound science,'' Babbitt said at a news conference.
The federal petroleum reserve was established in 1923 to ensure that oil was available for the U.S. Navy. But over the years it has had only sparse exploratory drilling in the 1940s and again in the 1980s.
Babbitt's plan brought immediate criticism from environmentalists, who questioned why a government reserve should be tapped at a time when world oil supplies are plentiful and prices are low.
``This is a terribly shortsighted decision,'' said William Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society. ``This reserve should be drilled only in an emergency.''
Adam Kolton of the Alaska Wilderness League called it ``a major disappointment'' that would lead to expanded leasing in the future, perhaps even - in a future administration - in the areas now protected by Babbitt.
Under the plan, which is expected to become final later this year, about a third of a 4.6 million-acre study area in the northeastern corner of the federal reserve would be off limits to drilling.
About 4 million acres will be made available for lease sale, including some underground leases where oil would have to be tapped by slant drilling because the surface area is protected.
Most controversial, however, will be a decision by Babbitt to bar any drilling or construction in a swath of ecologically sensitive marshes, lakes and lagoons that extend about 20 miles inland from the Beauford Sea, including an area around Teshekpuk Lake.
Recalling his visit to the region last summer, Babbitt called the coastal region ``one of the unique biological resources of the world, an absolutely extraordinary landscape.'' Each summer it attracts millions of geese and other migratory birds that feed on the rich grasses and molt within the protection of the lake.
But the coastal region, which is part of the Barrows Reach that extends eastward to the oil-rich Prudhoe Bay fields, also holds the greatest prospect for finding significant amounts of oil.
Oil companies and their advocates in Congress are likely to press for broader access to the federal reserve, including drilling in the coastal plain.
Ronnie Chappell, a spokesman for Arco Alaska, which is expected to bid on leases in the reserve, called Babbitt's decision ``a first step toward full and appropriate access'' to the reserve. He reiterated that the company, an affiliate of Atlantic Richfield, believes it can protect wildlife and still drill for oil along the coastal plain.
With construction, exploration and developing expected to take years, it may be a decade before oil actually flows from the reserve down the Alaska pipeline to Valdez, government and industry officials said.
Government estimates of how much oil is beneath the 4.6 million acre area have ranged widely. The Interior Department said it could be 500 million to 2.2 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web