Citing “low industry interest,” the Interior Department announced a freeze Friday on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska until at least 2017.
Interior said it was canceling future lease sales and will not extend current leases, following an announcement Sept. 28 by Royal Dutch Shell that it would cease exploration in Alaskan waters. The firm cited disappointing results and an uncertain regulatory environment.
“In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement.
Environmental groups hailed the move.
“The Obama administration finally made the right choice for the Arctic and our climate future,” said Friends of the Earth Climate Campaigner Marissa Knodel. “Today’s announcement marks a significant step in the right direction, but it is disappointing that current market conditions and lack of industry interest — not a safe climate future — moved the administration to action.”
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop, Utah Republican, said the Obama administration “has dangerous priorities.”
“It drives Shell out of the Arctic by giving the company regulatory hell for years, then uses this victory for big special interest groups to stop any hope for future energy development in the Arctic,” Mr. Bishop said in a statement. “While the Obama administration pats itself on the back, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is patting this administration on the head. Obama has once again played directly into Russia’s hands as he destroys our nation’s energy potential.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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