NEWS: U.S. OKs Expanded Oil Drilling in Alaska

With the need for more sources of domestic energy, the Bush administration is set to open previously closed areas of Alaska's North Slope. The Bureau of Land Management has decided that the exploration can be performed with a "minimum impact' to the area.



The area they are proposing has been off limits since the Reagan administration. However, according to geologists it has the highest potential for oil and gas. However, why should we deplete our reserves when other countries are still have reserves? Even if its more expensive it would be nice to have a reserve to fall back on.

Well same goes to other way around no? Why should other countries start using their reserves while USA has still reserves?

I wonder if it will have that "minimum impact" though...
There must be reasons why it previously was not OK. Now suddenly it is...

Alaskan oil is very expensive to get to the market. There is very little profit in extracting oil from alaska. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Administration officials have their highest expectations for the Beaufort. Government geologists estimate it holds nearly 7 billion barrels of recoverable oil, but only 30 wells have been drilled there since leasing began in 1979.

"There's been very little drilling for the size of the sea. Thirty wells is nothing," said Rance Wall, MMS regional supervisor for resource evaluation.

To entice interest, the agency is offering Beaufort Sea royalty breaks similar to those granted for Gulf of Mexico exploration. Oil producers could be entitled to produce as much as 45 million barrels royalty-free, under the program.

But past experience in the Beaufort, as elsewhere in Alaska's federal waters, may offer little encouragement for new exploration.

There was the infamous Mukluk prospect, where companies bid billions of dollars for drilling rights and BP in 1983 poured $120 million into one well. The result was the world's most expensive dry hole.

www.planetark.com...

So long Caribou, it's been nice knowing you.



Goodbye Black Brant, I'd like to save you but I cant.



Farewell Snow Geese, you'll soon be covered in grease.



Unfortunately Bear, there's oil over there.



I'm sorry Duck but Bush doesn't give a ****



[edit on 22-1-2005 by AceOfBase]

I have a freind that worked on the alaska pipeline almost from the beginning. 'He was a guard and he took alot of slides. He had slides of bears coming into camp etc.. He said the rules were very strict that you could not walk of the roads or out of camp into the tundra do to ecological damage. He had pictures of caribou running under the pipeline so the stories about them not crossing the pipeline is bs. There is some damage but not as much as yo would think. I lived in alaska for awhile and it is a vast territory. If we want to have cars and electric and all of the other modern things life offers we have to drill for oil and it does cause damage. There are trade offs unfortunatley.

At least a bit of a chuckle can be had before this goes down. Yet another rape of land by mankind, all to drink up the last drops of precious oil that when burnt or fashioned into plastics ruins the very enviroment it was extracted from at such a high cost. Too bad humans can't learn to change or do without some luxuries.

.
FredT,

Aw come on guy, America save or preserve anything? You're just playing with my head aren't you.

Think about it. America is the land of credit card government [deficit spending]. Most private citizens have spend more than they are currently worth, helped along by plastic. Even most corporations are in debt, which includes the successful ones.

If you are religious you don't even have to worry about the future, God, Jesus, Muhammad, etc. will take care of everything, don't worry your pretty little head about it.

America came up in the land of plenty, what many don't realize is even plenty can eventually come up short.

America is the land of the hog wallow. What can you do but try to enjoy the wallow party?
.

Hello, I'm an evil geologist working in the the evil oil & gas exploration industry. You guys are so brainwashed by the media its ridiculous. Oil & gas exploration is so extremely regulated with environmental protectionism it isn't even fathomable for someone on the outside to understand yet comprehend. As we speak I'm on Ensign drilling rig #87 drilling a natural gas horizontal well in the Jean Marie formation 1490mTVD, -971,2m subsea level. You guys really have to stop perpetuating the myth that oil & gas companies are evil entities bent on the destruction of the planet.
There are some many environmental regulations enforced it is almost impossible to cause any environmental damage.
You go in survey the land on Quads & snowmobiles & on foot. Then a siesmic crew goes in sets off depth charges and recording the data looking for siesmic anomalies that may contain oil & gas pockets. Some geologists pour over the data and determine if anything is even there worth chasing. This prevents mass destruction of the environment and narrows down targets. When a suitable location is determined a land lease is surveyed closest to civilization as possible where a dirt road is constructed in order to access this drilling location. Yes some trees are cut down but guess what, they grow back. A land lease is granted by the goverment at a huge cost I might add. Then a drilling rig is moved onto location along with a small portable camp for workers. A supplies are trucked or flown in along with the drilling crews, engineers, MWD & directional drillers, Geologists & tool pushes. They go in drill a well evaluate it and determine it it is profitable or a duster. It takes only a couple of weeks. There is absolutley no environmental damage what so ever.
The ground is scraped clean down to the clay and made flat & level. The top soil is spread to the edge of the lease out of harms way. The rig does it work and is removed, any spills which are very rare are immediately removed including a simple oil spot from a truck on location that has a leak.
The top soil is spread back on the location and trees are replanted. Within a couple of years you can't even tell man was there except for a small dirt trail. All that is left is a tiny well head or pump jack directing production into a pipeline which is burried under groud. All the animals are fine and not in harms way. All garbage & human waste & waste water is stored in tanks and removed. The environment police come and check out every single location and hand out extremely expensive fines like a huge portion of royalties generated from the well itself and poured directly into the governments coffers.
Believe you me the oil & gas industry has completely cleaned up its act in the western world where it is regulated. Now in third world countries its a differnt story but thats not Alaska now is it. Drilling for oil & gas is a good thing for alaska. Besides Alaskans want jobs so where is it any bodies business in California or New York to decide what is done in another state.
Besides a paper mill, shoes factory, blue jean textile plant, animal processing plant, fertillizer plant, actually cause more environmental damage and are subject to the same regulations. Go to an old oil & gas field and look for yourself. After 50 years everything man made is gone or been moved to a new field and the original habitat grows back.
Besides where do you think plastic comes from anyways. OIL!!!
All your modern technology is made out of plastic. You computer, cell phone, your Ipod mp3 player. your medical equipment. Absolutely everything now adays is made out of plastic or has plastic components.
Plasitc comes from petroleum as does fertilizer, medication, food, absolutely everything. Your whole way of life exists because of oil. You can't have multi million person cities without a food supply. How do you think that food gets from Iowa to NewYork. How does your cattle get from texas to California? By diesal powered semi trucks & trains. Diesal comes from oil!!
You people are always spewing the same old crap about oil companies and your the reason they exist in the first place. Your lifestyle creates the demand for oil which lead to war in the middle east. I can't really see you people moving to the country and living off the land. I can't see you giving up basketball & Football games or rock & rap concerts. I can't see you only walking for the rest of your life so just shut up already. You are ****** for spewing the same old anti oil crap thats been going on for the past 40 years becuase your not going to change the way or where you live.

[edit on 22-1-2005 by BattleofBatoche]

Then you put it on ships and the ships spill it, either way damage happens to the enviroment. I don't care though as long as you don't spill it in the Gulf of Mexico and hurt my beach, then I'll be ++++ed off. Oh, but I do drive a 02 Honda Civic, but that is because I enjoy money more than preservation. I like this land of "Hogwallow" as one poster stated. If this parade ends, then I'm gonna join the next parade of "Hogwallow". Please, by all means, wallow in jealousy at my standard of living and tell me how wrong it is for me to live the way I do. Scientists estimated that 85% of living species were extinct after a meteor hit the earth millions of years ago, either way everything will one day be destroyed, humanity included. So, why should I care about a bird?

[edit on 22-1-2005 by Prince_Machiavelli]

This article/news is really minor, as we are already drilling on the North Slope.Do not confuse this area with ANWR(AlaskaNational Wildlife Refuge), which is the controversy most people have been misled on by our media.This action concerns oil development in an area of the North Slope that had been cordoned off, and exists within the confines of National Petroleum Reserve(Alaska), or the North Slope.
Concerning the controversy surrounding drilling oil in Anwr-Once drilling at a large scale is allowed in ANWR,will decrease our dependency on foreign imports from the Mid-East and Latin America. It would also boost the revenue of many American oil companies, would lower the price of oil and gas for American consumers, and increase federal,state and local tax coffers. And it would bring many good jobs to us Alaskans. Why should we not drill and pump? Various studies indicate anywhere from 1.69 to 14.77 BILLION barrels of oil. And it is quite likly that other producing fields in Alaska exist.
The pipeline and other operations here have not affected the wildlife, imo. And I have been all over my state- including the North Slope/ DeadHorse oil fields.The caribou herds have multiplied. To the poster who showed all the animal pics, natives kill and eat(rightfully so) more snow geese, caribou,etc. than oil drilling operations ever will.
Regulations and procedures are very strict in the Artic tundra where oil drilling operations exist.The enviroment is protected in an extreme manner.Treehuggers get extreme over the issue, Congressman Don Young (R-AK) states that the government has been "infiltrated by preservationists. This is a socialist movement." I have to agree.
It only makes sense to bring our own oil to our own market.And,Want your gas and oil prices to go down? Support drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, and elsewhere, throughout the State of Alaska.

If you consider the costs of keeping the middle-east in your basket with your millitary apparatus, suddenly, Alaskan oil isn't that much expensive.

Actually I feel a bit sorry for the environment, but on the other hand it's a good thing that America would have less dependance on foreign oil, meaning less need for foreign interventions. Something that both many liberals and republicans and the rest of the world can agree on is a good thing albeit for different reasons.

Also, while the Alaskan oil may be of higher price to bring to the market, there is compensation in the fact that it's brought to the market by american companies for the full 100 percent, no part of that oil goes to the pockets of the saoudi princes, good for american jobs also.

From a broader perspective you can see how larger and improved infrastructures in Alaska will also support the missile shields etc, everything is dual purpose nowadays...


[edit on 22-1-2005 by Countermeasures]

Drilling in the north is just a short term solution to a long term problem. 14 billion barrel is reserve is nice but is roughly a 2 year supply to the US at 20 mbp/d. ANWR will be drilled sooner rather than later as price increase and China keeps making deals with the oil exporting nations (Iran, Venezuala, Russia), leaving the good ole' USA dependant on its own reserves and old allies (Saudia Arabia, Mexico, UK). Untill alternate energy sources are utilized on a grand scale (world Population), get used to war and drilling in forbidded areas.

Ooopps

While you people debate on the oil and the environment I have to said only one think.

I remember the controversy back in the 80s about Alaska drilling, Even Reagan was decent enough to care for the people of Alaska.

But now we have a man in the with house that care for nothing but its own personal interest and he will screw anything and anybody for his bodies in higher places.

Even Steven Seagal made a movie on the consequences of the "evil" empires drilling in Alaska at the expenses of the Alaskan people and safety.

Yes we still have to way to see what the people of Alaska will have to say about this.

Or perhaps bush will used the "patriot act" tag them "terrorist" and move them to a reservation or "camp" somewhere where they will not be a problem.

Does it sounds extremist, I don't think so, remember bush is on a mission from God so he is unstoppable.

I can wait for what this one is going to sink on the natives of the region of Alaska.

Originally posted by marg6043
Yes we still have to way to see what the people of Alaska will have to say about this.

Why wait?

From ABC News:
Oil Drilling: the View From Alaska

But there are reasons why so many Alaskans favor oil development, despite some environmental consequences.
This is oil patch, USA. Oil revenues pay for state government in a region where doing anything costs a bundle. There is no state income tax, and with fewer than 700,000 residents, there's little chance of supporting state operations through taxes.

From Time Online:
The Return of Alaskan Oil Drilling

With all the debate over ANWR, has anyone bothered to ask Alaskans how they feel?

Well, no. States' rights and land rights advocates would argue that's a typical example of the federal government making decisions in Washington without bothering to ask the locals. But one reason the feds haven't asked is that there's no doubt where Alaskans stand. The state's congressional delegation has been drilling's biggest proponents. State polls show two-thirds of Alaskans consistently support drilling in ANWR.

Google: alaskans alaska oil drilling (about 15,400 results)

The people of Alaska have not been keeping their opinions to themselves.

Far from it, in fact. Rather, other people have been either been ignoring them or dishonestly putting words in their mouths and lying about oil drilling in Alaska.

May I suggest not being one of those other people?

Also, for those bemoaning the “extinction” of animals as a result of oil drilling, I recommend educating yourselves on the subject so you don't look so silly. The truth is not with you.

There has been no legitimate correlation shown between oil drilling and extinction since it began in Alaska decades ago, and there is no credible evidence that even if people tried to cause extinction they would succeed. Alaska is a very big place.

You might also want to go visit Alaska sometime. Not only is it one of our most beautiful states, it is also so enormous that most people can't comprehend it until they actually drive around up there. It's bigger than Texas, people. A lot bigger.

Oh hey, did I mention that Alaska is big?

Please, for those who are parading their ignorance of the topic around like a badge of honor, I urge you to Deny Ignorance and get some facts from someplace other than leftist websites and propaganda mills.

The truth is that there is plenty of Alaska to go around.


[edit on 1/22/2005 by Majic]

Let's put it this way, if the the oil is not drilled in alaska, it will have to be drilled in African countries, not only potentially harming the environment overthere, but as a bonus ALSO bring on many resourcewars between americans, chinese and europeans, christian blacks, muslim blacks and all kinds of factions that want a piece of the action.

So, shalle we endanger the Alaskian duck, or endanger the African lion PLUS a bunch of human lives????

By the time Alaskan oil dries up, nuclear fusion might finally be ready for the marketplace....

Also changes are that the oilcompanies would go a greater length to built in some environmental protection at home than if they drill in some far away African country where human lives have lower value. So from a global green and slightly liberal perspective, on this thing I can agree with Bush for a change

If it turns out an environmental disaster anyway, it might be a valuable educational lesson about corporate america to remember at the ballotbox next time!


[edit on 22-1-2005 by Countermeasures]

Well Majic isn't that sad that our beloved bush has not a care in the world about anything but profits, after all is plenty of Alaska to go around.

I still going to sit and watch as our beloved re-elected president keep holding his big interest dear to his hart over the safety of our American citizens and the environment.

One day you will be able to remember how beautiful Alaska used to be.

By the way are you a native Alaskan citizen?

The God Of This World

Originally posted by marg6043
Well Majic isn't that sad that our beloved bush has not a care in the world about anything but profits, after all is plenty of Alaska to go around.

Here's some news for you: not everything in the universe revolves around Bush. But by believing that and saying it you give him incredible power.

I advise against giving the man more power than he already has, which is too much, in my opinion.

You should know that some of Bush's own people support the anti-Bush propaganda campaign. Apparently, they see the advantages of having their man made out to be either a god or a devil.

Whatever works.

Huh?

Originally posted by marg6043
I still going to sit and watch as our beloved re-elected president keep holding his big interest dear to his hart over the safety of our American citizens and the environment.

I really, really think you should study this subject so you will understand why this statement makes no sense whatsoever. I can offer advice and opinions, but if you are going to embrace ignorance, I can't stop you.

Your appeal for “safety and the environment” is a product of people who are paid to get you to think that way – and don't care one whit for either. It's a bunch of bullfeces, and embarrassing to read in this context.

It has nothing to do with what is actually going on here, and the motivations of the people who are pushing this propaganda are not benign in the slightest – only those of the people they are duping.

But you won't ever know that unless you decide knowing the truth is more important than having a strident opinion on the topic.

I advise against letting your good intentions be used as a weapon by others.

Tomorrow's Memories Today

Originally posted by marg6043
One day you will be able to remember how beautiful Alaska used to be.

I don't need to wait, I can remember it now, vividly, and when I can I plan to go back, as so many who leave Alaska always vow to do.

It must be seen to be appreciated, photos and movies don't even give the barest glimpse.

If you were to think that I don't love Alaska and care about its future, then you would be deceiving yourself to your own discredit.

All About Me

Originally posted by marg6043
By the way are you a native Alaskan citizen?

Nope, I wasn't born there. But if you are trying to change the subject to who I am, then you are admitting that you are wrong about the topic.

The topic is oil drilling in Alaska, not where I was born.


[edit on 1/22/2005 by Majic]

Originally posted by BattleofBatoche
Snip

Welcome to ATS, where every company is an anti-freedom NWO front bent on destroying all we hold near and dear. I worked for an energy company for a while, those things are extremely regulated. It takes all they've got just to turn a profit.

Don't worry, you'll get used to it, once you figure out that if someone is spending all of his time on ATS complaining about sh*t he knows nothing about, he's not outside screwing up the world for everyone else

Thanks Majic, for expressing your valid opinions, and yeah, once you do come to Alaska, you never leave- you might be gone in the physical sence but your heart will always be here.
It amazes me that most Americans in the "Lower 48", as we call the rest of the U.S., cannot even place Alaska on a map.
The amazement I have is also realized when I read some of the comments in this thread.
People, this country is so big and vast- there is plenty oil here, undiscovered oil also.
Gulf of Mexico drilling operations have done far more damage to the environment than drilling in Alaska ever will.
Most people thogh, it seems, have to make a fool out of themselves by taking sides with an issue they know nothing about.
If we quit buying all the oil from the mideast, do you think it would have an effect on other issues, such as the big one- terroism? Sure it would. Think about it, it does not take too much intellect to figure that one out.
Alaska should be the filling station,for oil, of our country. Oh, yeah, when your (Lower 48) natural gas prices go down, due to a planned pipeline for same being built in the near future, thank this state and it's proud residents, who do without on many luxuries and convienences that many other American workers can afford, which due to our geographical, etc. situation, we cannot. Like, we do not even have an interstate transportation system- we are the only state that does not have interstate roadways. Or live in say, Iliamna and pay 10$ for a gallon of milk-
In all reality, short of a nuclear explosion, all the wildlife here could not be killed off, regardless- because this Last Frontier is so big and vast and the majority of the areas here are so remote and inaccesible.
What is so different about drilling here? Compared to drilling in a great number of other states? I bet the majority of people complaining actually live close to oil drilling operations.
Deny ignorance, people. And, Alaska will always be beautiful. Alaskan's will see to that.

Magic, you make no sense, you mis interpreted my post and then you gave your own opinion nothing.

Now let me got back and make it more simple for you.

Are you in favor or against drilling in Alaska?

My answer to the same question is, no Alaska should be left alone, to be the beautiful places that has always been, bush and the oil interest should never be allowed to damage what have been painfully protected for so long.

And by the way the oil that has been drilled in Alaska has done changes in the eviroment already.

Now I just want an answer, and occurs your opinion counts too as always but not when you are pushing your opinions as fact.

Now no even onces I have call you ignorant "yet"