INVESTIGATIVE SERIES · ENERGY & LAND
Multi-part investigative series probing environmental mitigation funds, infrastructure loopholes, and North Slope oil development.
Other companies also have their leases tied up in litigation from local and environmental groups.
AIDEA is spending as much as $175 million to look for petroleum in the refuge.
AIDEA intends to move ahead with geologic testing on its leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to bid on new ones in an upcoming federal sale.
Alaska’s economic development agency, AIDEA, wants to conduct geologic testing on its existing oil leases — and to bid on new ones — in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Two huge companies thought to have little interest in Alaska investment, Shell and ExxonMobil, spent millions to buy new leases on the North Slope — though drilling still faces obstacles.
In December, the Interior Department scrapped an agreement with the village of Nuiqsut to restrict oil development near important caribou grounds. Now, the village is suing.
The company said it will replace “The Beast” with another Doyon rig.
'Do you want your kids to see a drilling rig right outside your window?' asked one local leader in Nuiqsut.
Narwhal Exploration is one of three small, privately owned companies with offshore leases in West Harrison Bay, a promising but largely unexplored area once controlled by Shell.
As the world pivots toward lower-carbon energy sources in response to global warming, experts say some of the state’s hard-to-tap oil prospects are becoming less attractive.
The tribal and city councils in Nuiqsut withdrew their support for a joint letter they sent last year blasting the “endless expansion of oil development and the complete encirclement of our village."
Australia-based Santos got a permit from the state to access its new Pikka development by crossing Conoco's roads. After losing an appeal last week, Conoco could now take its case to court.
