ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Oil giant ConocoPhillips has announced plans to launch exploratory drilling in the North Slope under the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
Now, environmental groups are raising concerns about the plans. The exploratory drilling in the area doesn’t mean that wells are being dug, but rather that the company will be conducting studies to see if the region has the oil to be drilled, which is what the environmental organization, The Wilderness Society, is raising concerns about.
“What they’re proposing to do is to conduct seismic studies, which involves moving camps of several hundred men across the arctic tundra,” senior manager at The Wilderness Society, Matthew Jackson, said.
“It’s almost like a small earthquake across the tundra in a very tight, grid pattern, and with that data they’re able to learn more about what’s underneath the ground. It also comes with a lot of impacts to the tundra,” he explained.
Because the activity happens in the winter, one animal negatively impacted is the Alaskan bear.
“It can affect poor bears who are denning, you know, poor bear sows who have just given birth to their cubs in the den, and then they’re disturbed by the seismic testing,” Jackson said.
The larger concern for the organization is the impact to the climate, with Jackson saying that the arctic is “warming four times faster than the rest of the country,” while communities that exist in the North Slope and the NPR-A region are at risk of being cut off from traditional hunting grounds.
“We have communities such as Nuiqsut that are beginning to become surrounded by oil and gas development where they are literally cut off from traditional hunting and fishing grounds by oil development and by the pollution that comes from oil development,” Jackson said.
The seismic permits would allow for the activity to be done south of the Greater Mooses Tooth and Bear Tooth Units, a well exploration program in the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit, and three-well exploration programs near the Bear Tooth Unit.
According to the company, if the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approves the permits, the NPR-A season would create upwards of 900 jobs, and the company says they operate with safe standards and all considerations for the environment.
“ConocoPhillips is dedicated to the safe and responsible development of our leaseholds in Alaska for the benefit of all Alaskans and our nation’s energy security. We recognize the strategic importance of resource development in the state and are seeking authorization from the Bureau of Land Management to conduct exploration activities in the NPR-A during the winter season of 2025-2026.
ConocoPhillips looks forward to continuing our more than 50-year track record of responsibly exploring for and developing Alaska’s resources in the years ahead,” a ConocoPhillips spokesperson said in a statement.
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