The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation & Enforcement (BOEMRE) is investigating how a very large oil spill would impact the ocean environment offshore Alaska’s north-west coast, primarily in the Chukchi Sea.
The investigation is thought to be a direct impact of last year’s Macondo disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico, which revealed serious gaps in the US oil spill defence system and the ability of oil companies to handle them.
The bureau said that the study was part of a court-mandated review of environmental aspects of the February 2008 offshore petroleum lease sale that brought almost $2.7billion into its coffers; most of that from Shell, which spent $2.1billion for Chukchi Sea licences. However, Shell has become mired down in court challenges to drilling and an array of opposition efforts that have so far put paid to drilling permits being granted.
The strongest of those blockages is the order by Anchorage US District Court Judge Ralph Beistline to the Interior Department. He is calling on them to undertake analysis of the environmental impact of oil & gas development, to determine if missing data would obviate the sale’s validity.
He ruled the US federal government failed to adhere to the law prior to the sale, adding the region in question was home to endangered whales, polar bears, walrus, seals and other wildlife. BOEMRE has indicated that the Chukchi Sea spill risk assessment will be completed by June 1, after which a 45-day public comment period would follow. A revised environmental statement will be issued by October, it said.