The Bureau of Land Management last week approved exploratory drilling and seismic activity in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve after a week of public comment.
On Wednesday, BLM officials approved the exploratory project proposed by ConocoPhillips, which is also the developer of the nearby Willow project, a massive oil venture planned on Alaska’s North Slope.
ConocoPhillips plans a seismic survey of over 300 square miles as well as four winter exploratory drilling wells and right-of-way access to sites that are west and south of the village of Nuiqsut. The company also plans to reclaim two existing wells. Its activities will include building ice roads, ice airstrips and ice pads and will involve hundreds of personnel, according to the final environmental assessment. The company plans to pump water and collect snow from nearby lakes to build the ice roads and conduct its seismic survey.
The planned exploration, along with Willow, are in the vast NPR-A, the largest tract of federal land in the United States. It serves as key habitat for many species and is mostly undisturbed.
