Alaska's drilling debate moves offshore

With the oil industry targeting Arctic waters, energy needs are weighed against a region’s delicate life cycle.

…Though the conservation community has fought successfully over the last decade to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the remaining pristine areas of the North Slope have been going fast. In September, the Bureau of Land Management put 1.5 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, with its shimmering lakes and verdant tundra, up for lease to developers.

Now the battle is moving offshore.

The coast around Prudhoe Bay is already dotted with drilling operations such as British Petroleum’s Liberty project, which, when completed, will have the world’s longest diagonal wells — reaching eight miles out from facilities near shore. In contrast, the proposed Chukchi Sea leases would start 25 miles offshore and reach 200 miles out.

Obama administration officials have said they will weigh the nation’s energy needs against the desire to protect crucial resources. But with active North Slope fields reaching the end of their production life, the allure of an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Alaska’s shores is strong.

Gov. Sarah Palin has warned that without new drilling, the 800-mile-long trans-Alaska oil pipeline could be forced to shut down in as little as 10 years — crippling America’s hopes for energy independence, not to mention her state.

LA Times