The Trump administration on Tuesday approved an oil company’s request to drill an exploratory well on a man-made artificial island in the Arctic Ocean.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement granted a permit for Italian oil company Eni SpA to drill an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea to test production conditions there, the agency announced. Its permit allows the company to begin work as early as December.
“Responsible resource development in the Arctic is a critical component to achieving American energy dominance,” said bureau Director Scott Angelle. “BSEE is committed to working with our Alaskan native and industry partners by taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas exploration, development and production in the Arctic.”
The agency says this is the first time in two years that the government has approved drilling exploration on the American section of the Arctic Ocean, which is part of the Outer Continental Shelf.
The Outer Continental Shelf is the submerged offshore area between a continent and the deep ocean. America’s shelf encompasses 1.76 billion acres.
Republicans in Congress, led by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah, are aiming to advance legislation allowing more energy exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The Obama administration’s National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022 excluded 94 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing, Bishop’s office said.
The Trump administration in June submitted for public comment its own five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing, potentially opening more areas for development.
Environmentalists and many Democrats say it’s too hazardous and expensive to drill in the Outer Continental Shelf.
