The government press release actually says it in all caps: “HUGE.” The new USGS mean estimate of 8.7 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil is far more than was last calculated in 2010.
Energy & Mining
Refuge drilling opponents prepare for next phase of struggle
Now that Congress has OK’d oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, opponents are preparing for the next phase in their decades-long struggle to protect the environmentally sensitive area.
Trump lauds Arctic Refuge passage; Young: ‘We finally got it done’
Alaska’s members of Congress celebrated their success Wednesday in opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The measure passed in the Republican tax bill with a final vote in the House.
Pebble announces federal permit application
Pebble Limited Partnership has announced that tomorrow, it will apply for a federal Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Oil companies aren’t promising to drill in ANWR…so how interested are they?
Now, everything that was hypothetical is going to get real. One of the big questions that could finally get answered this: what oil companies, if any, are actually interested in drilling in the Refuge?
Arctic Refuge drilling bill passes Congress
Alaska’s members of Congress are celebrating their success in opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. “We finally got it done,” U.S. Rep Don Young said minutes after the bill passed the House Wednesday afternoon.
After 40 years, battle over ANWR is ending quietly
The Sierra Club’s Melinda Pierce thought if Sen. Ted Stevens couldn’t get Congress to open ANWR in 2005 when Republicans controlled Congress, gas prices were up and the Iraq war was raging, it may never happen. Opening it up now is a stunning reversal for environmentalists.
Climate task force begins work — and push-back begins, too
Gov. Bill Walker’s climate change task force met for the first time Monday. But the team is facing questions before it even begins work.
Juneau Assembly urges feds to tackle transboundary mining
The Juneau Assembly will ask the State Department to raise transboundary mining concerns with Canada. An earlier resolution was rejected by some Assembly members as anti-mining.
Pebble names First Quantum Minerals as new partner
Early Monday morning, Pebble announced a new partner to help carry its mining project through at least the permitting phase. First Quantum Minerals is a Canadian-based company that currently operates seven mines and one copper smelter across six countries, including a large copper project in Panama.