Oil patch insider: Delegation, Inupiat oppose BLM's special areas process; Furie gets IHAs

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) reiterated their opposition to Interior's Bureau of Land Management's latest efforts to further restrict resource development across the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. In a letter sent Sept. 17, the delegation voiced strong opposition to the Bureau of Land Management's request for information (RFI), the precursor to what the delegation called an arbitrary, deliberately opaque process to expand and create new Special Areas in the NPR-A.

BLM issued the RFI earlier this year, just after unilaterally restricting leasing and development on more than half the surface acreage of the 23 million acre petroleum reserve. The agency continues to refuse to properly consult with and reflect opposition from Alaska Native communities on the North Slope in decisions that affect their lands and interests, the delegation said.

"We write to reiterate our strong opposition to (RFI), 'Special Areas Within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska' published in the Federal Register by the Bureau of Land Management on July 17, 2024. As discussed in prior letters to BLM, the administration's decision to impose restrictions on a variety of activities across the (NPR-A) is unprecedented and unlawful. As such, we urge BLM to abandon any effort to unilaterally expand Special Areas in the NPR-A," the delegation wrote.

"BLM must recognize that the management regime it now envisions for the NPR-A blatantly conflicts with federal law, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright. Congress has directed BLM to carry out an 'expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas' in Alaska's petroleum reserve, yet BLM has arbitrarily reinterpreted the statute to focus on an expeditious program of new administrative barriers that will restrict or prohibit responsible resource development. In this case, BLM unilaterally wrote a rule that restricts access to more than half of the surface acreage of the NPR-A and is now using the authorities granted to itself under that rule to justify further processes that will inevitably result in further restrictions. It is simply not believable for BLM to claim that it is meeting congressional intent, given that no new lease sale has been carried out in the NPR-A since 2019. The agency instead continues to depart from the law to reduce access across the petroleum reserve, with the RFI process for Special Areas serving as the latest effort to convert millions of acres within a federal petroleum reserve into de facto federal wilderness. ... The process by which BLM is undertaking the RFI is not transparent, will hide relevant information from policymakers and the public, and any decisions based on it will be unilaterally made behind closed doors without a true public process."

The NPR-A Working Group, which provides the forum for North Slope communities to provide meaningful, regular input to BLM's on-going management decisions and proposed activities in NPR-A, as well as the Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, a nonprofit that serves as a unifying voice for communities on the North Slope of Alaska, passed resolutions opposing BLM's RFI. The City of Utqiaġvik, City of Atqasuk, Nunamiut Corp., Atqasuk Corp., Native Village of Atqasuk and the North Slope Regional Trilateral (Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, North Slope Borough, Arctic Slope Regional Corp.) all submitted letters opposing BLM's RFI process and protesting the expansion and creation of new Special Areas in the NPR-A.

Voice of Arctic Inupiat

"It's telling that the most vocal supporters of DOI's RFI are groups who do not reflect the region's majority consensus and lawmakers who neither represent North Slope constituents nor have any meaningful connection to Alaska -- let alone the North Slope. Together, they are manufacturing a false narrative that does not reflect our region's broad opposition to the RFI.

"These groups do not represent popular opinion on the North Slope. They hailed DOI's deeply flawed NPR-A rule earlier this year -- a decision made without any meaningful engagement with the people who live in the affected area. Now, they disingenuously claim to support 'meaningful partnerships with Tribes,' while blatantly disregarding the Indigenous voices that live in the affected areas. Their hypocrisy is deeply offensive to the North Slope Inupiat, and we will not be silenced by their performative 'support' for Indigenous communities in our region," Harcharek said.

"Policies that are forced upon us without our input threaten to dismantle our regional economy. More than 95% of our region's tax revenue comes from development infrastructure on the North Slope -- funding jobs and essential services like water and sewer systems, schools, health clinics, and wildlife research that sustains our subsistence traditions. DOI's reckless actions put all of these vital resources -- and our communities and culture -- at serious risk," he said.

"This RFI is the latest in a series of deeply flawed processes and policies from the federal government affecting our ancestral homelands. The stakes for our communities are high. That is why VOICE filed a lawsuit to challenge DOI's NPR-A rule on behalf of its 21 members in June this year. The federal government must allow the courts to resolve our case instead of rushing to enact additional processes to permanently alter Special Areas within the NPR-A in ways that do not align with our communities' needs, longstanding land management practices, or congressional intent," Harcharek said.

"It's past time for the DOI, lawmakers from the Lower 48, and groups that do not represent popular will in our region, to practice what they preach. They must listen to the voices of the North Slope Inupiat -- the true stewards of the NPR-A for thousands of years -- and respect our right to decide the future of our lands, waters, communities, and our Inupiaq culture."

Furie gets incidental take approval

These authorizations are effective from Sept. 13, 2024, through Sept. 12, 2025, for year 1 activities, and Sept. 13, 2025, through Sept. 12, 2026, for year 2 activities.

In a summary of Furie's request. NMFS said it received a request from Furie on July 19, 2023, for two consecutive IHAs to take marine mammals incidental to natural gas activities in Cook Inlet. The application was deemed adequate and complete on April 5, 2024.

Furie's request is for take of 12 species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment and, for harbor seals, Level A harassment.

Neither Furie nor NMFS expect serious injury or mortality to result from this activity.

From Sept. 13, 2024, through Sept. 12, 2025 (year 1), and from Sept. 13, 2025, through Sept. 12, 2026 (year 2), Furie is planning to conduct the following natural gas activities in Middle Cook Inlet:

In year 1, Furie proposes to relocate the Enterprise 151 jack-up production rig (Enterprise 151 or rig) to the Julius R. Platform (JRP) site, install up to two conductor piles using an impact hammer, and conduct production drilling of up to two natural gas wells

at the JRP with the Enterprise 151 rig (or a similar rig) across 45-180 days. During year 2, Furie proposes to relocate the Enterprise 151 rig to the JRP site again, potentially install one to two conductor piles using an impact hammer (depending on whether either or both of these piles are installed or not during year 1) and conduct additional production drilling at the JRP.

Furie proposes to conduct the rig towing and pile driving activities between April 1 and Nov. 15 each year, but if favorable ice conditions occur outside of that period, it may tow the rig or pile drive outside of that period.

--Oil Patch Insider is compiled by Kay Cashman