Washington DC- House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings and Alaska Representative Don Young introduced legislation to open the 10-02 Coastal Plain area of ANWR to oil and gas development. The bill The Alaskan Energy for American Jobs Act, numbered HR. 3407, repeals section 10-03 of the Alaska National Interests Lands Claims Act (ANILCA) to allow oil and gas exploration and production within the 10-02 and commands the Secretary of Interior to lease lands within the 10-02.
With the Environmental Protection Agency air discharge permits in hand, Shell oil is gearing up for plans to drill up to 6 wells in Alaska’s Chuckchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) area. The air discharge permits, which have been stalled by review for a number of years are the second to last major regulatory hurdle necessary to allow Shell to conduct exploratory work.