BLM issues Teshekpuk Lake right of way

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

On Dec. 17 the Bureau of Land Management announced that it had issued a right of way to Nuiqsut Trilateral Inc. for the protection of the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd and its key habitat in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The right of way encompasses about 1 million acres in the northerly sector of the 3.6 million acre special area. Nuiqsut Trilateral is a non-profit corporation formed by the Native Village of Nuiqsut, Kuukpik Corp. and the City of Nuiqsut.

The objective of the right of way is to enable the Nuiqsut community to ensure that the caribou herd and associated subsistence uses are not adversely impacted by ConocoPhillips' nearby Willow oilfield development -- the village of Nuiqsut is the closest community to the Willow field.

The Willow field has one planned well pad within the special area, but not within the newly designated right of way. And there are no existing oil and gas leases within the right of way. The right of way will continue in existence for the duration of the Willow project and until any impacted caribou habitat has been effectively restored, BLM says.

Under the terms of the right of way Nuiqsut Trilateral will have the authority to enforce restrictions on oil and gas development within the right of way area. BLM says that restrictions potentially include new oil and gas leasing; the construction of surface infrastructure related to oil and gas and mineral exploration, development and mining; the extraction of resources including oil and gas, other mineral resources, and gravel; and the construction of roads and pipelines in support of oil and gas activities. However, Nuiqsut Trilateral will also be able to waive restrictions on behalf of the communities that the restrictions are designed to benefit, BLM says.

The right of way agreement derives from an environmental mitigation measure within the special environmental impact statement for the Willow development, BLM says.

--ALAN BAILEY