Arctic drilling may be back on the cards if a proposed project off the Alaskan coast clears environmental hurdles.
President Barack Obama famously outlawed oil and gas drilling across most of the Arctic shelf.
But the prospect – fiercely opposed by environmental activists – reared its head again when Donald Trump’s administration overturned the Obama legacy policy.
Now a company has filed plans that would entail building a man made island in the shallow waters of Alaska’s North Slope, aimed at targeting an estimated 80-150 million barrels of recoverable oil
Entitled ‘The Liberty Project’ the developers are looking to tap into reserves with a peak production of between 60,000 and 70,000 barrels a day.
The Liberty field has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years.
Located 15 miles east of Prudhoe Bay in Foggy Island Bay, the proposed Liberty Island will sit about six miles offshore in 19 feet of water.
The 9.3-acre, gravel island would take an estimated two years to construct.
Operator Hilcorp claim the development of Liberty will help offset declining oil production on the North Slope and contribute to increasing the life span and efficiency of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
Hilcorp Alaska, as subsidiary of the Houston parent firm, has now filed a development and production plan with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The filing of the plan is the first of “many steps in the permitting process”, the company said in a statement.
Approval will require multiple approvals at the local, state and federal levels and is expected to take more than two years.
A final analysis and decision to proceed with the project will be made after all the necessary permits have been issued, Hilcorp Alaska said.
The proposed island is similar to other islands that have been developing Alaska’s offshore resources responsibly for nearly 30 years: Endicott, Northstar, Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq.
The 9.3-acre, manmade Liberty Island will take an estimated two years to construct.
The island will have facilities for drilling, production, production support, utilities, camp and relief-well area. The outer perimeter of the island will be heavily reinforced using proven North Slope technology.