Arctic offshore production wells approved off Alaska's coast

The first oil and gas production wells in federal Arctic waters have been approved by U.S. regulators. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday announced it issued a conditional permit for the Liberty Project, a proposal by a subsidiary of Houston-based Hilcorp for production wells on an artificial island in the Beaufort Sea. The approval follows through on President Donald Trump's promise of American energy dominance, said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. "Responsibly developing our resources, in Alaska especially, will allow us to use our energy diplomatically to aid our allies and check our adversaries," he said in the announcement. Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and have expressed concerns about the production record of Hilcorp Alaska LLC. State authorities in 2017 year fined the company $200,000 for violations at another production site. Kristen Monsell, ocean legal director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said approval of Liberty sets the country down a path of destroying the Arctic. "An oil spill in the Arctic would be impossible to clean up and the region is already stressed by climate change," she said. The gravel island would be built in 19 feet (5.8 meters) of water about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) off shore. The site is 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil field...MORE