Floodgates Open to Arctic Oil Fields

摘要

As the 2012 presidential season kcicks into gear, the Obama administration is signaling a willingness to clear the regulatory decks for oil drilling in Alaska's remote Arctic waters. After pulling back the U.S. petroleum industry following the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama is steadily reopening the domestic oil spigot. The most recent evidence came in December when the Interior Department issued conditional approval for Royal Dutch Shell to explore for oil this summer in Alaska's Chukchi Sea. The company had already received conditional approval for oil drilling in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, east of the Chukchi. Shell has also secured EPA air pollution permits to operate its drill ships and support fleet of icebreakers, oil spill response vessels, and supply ships. The company still must secure a host of other federal permits and submit a final exploration plan for both projects.