The Interior Department on Friday kick-started the process to streamline permitting for oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Interior said it had received a petition for rulemaking from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association earlier this month. In response, the department plans to launch a 45-day public scoping period as the first step toward permitting oil projects in the reserve more quickly.
The AOGA petition argues that the environmental impacts of oil developments in the NPR-A, such as ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, have been “exhaustively analyzed” and similar new proposals shouldn’t have to undergo the same review.
“The rulemaking will establish pre-defined criteria for defined and repeatable common activities with similar environmental effects that, when met by an applicant, will result in streamlined permitting for qualifying production sites,” Interior wrote in a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
