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Northwestern Alaska News

14 Apr 2021

U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Atlantic, Arctic Offshore Leasing Bans

Sea Ice in the Chukchi Sea  - Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Under CC BY 2.0 License

A federal appeals court on Tuesday confirmed bans on offshore oil leasing in most federal Arctic waters and in the Atlantic after the Trump Administration tried to open them up to development.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said President Joe Biden's reinstatement of Obama-era protections makes moot the previous administration's attempts to allow oil development there.The Trump administration pressed for oil-and-gas development throughout the United States as the nation's crude production surged to a record 13 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2019.

30 Jan 2018

Alaska Requests Limits on US Offshore Drilling

© eqroy / Adobe Stock

Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state's coast. While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan. In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped…

07 Jul 2011

NOAA Fairweather Departs on Survey Mission

NOAA Ship Fairweather, a 231-foot survey vessel, departed Kodiak, Alaska, today on a mission to conduct hydrographic surveys in remote areas of the Arctic where depths have not been measured since before the U.S. bought Alaska in 1867. NOAA will use the data to update nautical charts to help mariners safely navigate this  important but sparsely charted region, which is now seeing increased vessel traffic because of the significant loss of  Arctic sea ice. Over the next two months, Fairweather will conduct hydrographic surveys covering 402 square nautical miles of navigationally significant waters in Kotzebue Sound, a regional distribution hub in northwestern Alaska in the Arctic Circle.

26 Feb 2009

Craig, Reasoner Join Crowley Personnel Dept.

Scott Craig

Crowley Maritime Corporation is continuing the expansion of its newly formed marine personnel department through the appointments of Scott Craig, director, West Coast/Alaska and Margaret Reasoner, director, East Coast/Gulf. Craig will have responsibility for the Seattle, Long Beach and Anchorage crewing locations that service operations from southern California to northwestern Alaska encompassing more than 70-crewed vessels and 800-plus mariners. Reasoner will have day-to-day responsibility for more than 65-crewed vessels and approximately 1,200 mariners in locations from Lake Charles, Lou.

04 Jan 2008

MMS Offer Exploration Rights

The Minerals Management Service will offer oil and gas exploration rights next month to 29.7 million acres in the remote Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska, according to a Reuters report. The decision to hold the February 6 lease sale, the first in the Chukchi since 1991, comes days before the Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to list the polar bear as threatened and has drawn fire from environmentalists seeking to limit oil development in the area. In the past, companies seeking to drill Alaska's offshore regions have concentrated on areas as close to shore as possible, minimizing distances from infrastructure and potential costs.

03 Jan 2008

MMS Host Offshore Alaska Offers Exploration Rights

The U.S. Minerals Management Service will offer oil and gas exploration rights next month to 29.7 million acres in the remote Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska, according to Reuters. The decision to hold the February 6 lease sale, the first in the Chukchi since 1991, comes days before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to list the polar bear as threatened and has drawn fire from environmentalists seeking to limit oil development in the area.