An effort is underway within the Department of Interior to review all research available for a number of federal agencies about the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas to better determine the effects of offshore oil development on the marine environment. A special concern in the region is the ability of industry to effectively clean up oil spills in ice-covered waters. Another area of interest is the impact of exploration activities on marine mammals.
Shell Oil is looking to drill three exploratory wells in the summer of 2010 in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas that will be able provide additional information on oil development operations in the arctic and look at gaps that exist in the knowledge base.
In a press release, USGS Director Marcia McNutt said of the initiative, “As part of the Administration commitment to ensuring that offshore oil and gas decisions are based on science and sound information, the U.S. Geological Survey will examine and summarize what information is available about the Arctic and what knowledge gaps may exist regarding environmental sensitivities, including impending climate change, and other factors that would be considered in decisions about potential future development in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.”
Currently there are 487 oil leases in the Chukchi Sea and 186 in the Beaufort. The Obama administration is starting the scoping process necessary to begin an Environment Impact Statement that will address the Mineral Management Service exploration plan for future leases in the region.
The greatest benefit of this effort will be that the federal government will have results of a gap analysis to will help focus the topics of future research in the arctic. Areas of interest are likely to include technical assessment of oil spill response and recovery equipment, metrological trends and improved mapping.
