Oil drilling

May 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today asked the Department of Justice to seek clarification from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the scope of its April 17, 2009 decision that Bush Administration officials did not conduct sufficient scientific and environmental analysis before scheduling oil and gas lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf off Alaska.    » read more »

SAN RAMON, Calif., May 7, 2009 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today confirmed a discovery within the Moho-Bilondo license in the Republic of the Congo.

The Moho Nord Marine-4 well, in which Chevron Overseas (Congo) Limited holds a 31.5 percent interest, is located approximately 46 miles (75 kilometers) offshore of the Republic of the Congo, in 3,537 feet (1,078 meters) of water in the northern part of the Moho-Bilondo license.

George Kirkland, Chevron executive vice president, Global Upstream and Gas, said, "This exciting discovery emphasizes the future potential of this region in which Chevron and its partners have already made significant energy investments, including the Moho-Bilondo project."    » read more »

Gulf's Deepest Production Expected to Add 125,000 Barrels of Oil Per Day

SAN RAMON, Calif., May 6, 2009 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) has announced that it has started crude oil production from its Tahiti Field, the deepest producing field in the Gulf of Mexico. First oil from Tahiti was achieved on May 5, 2009. Daily production is expected to ramp up to approximately 125,000 barrels of crude oil and 70 million cubic feet of natural gas before the end of the year.    » read more »

April 28, 2009 -- SANTA FE – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson applauded the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision today to require the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to take a hard look at the potential adverse impacts from oil and gas drilling on Otero Mesa.

“This is a major boost in our fight to protect one of New Mexico’s most ecologically valuable and unique places,” Governor Bill Richardson said. “I am pleased that the courts share our steadfast position that the public must have a voice in decisions affecting oil and gas leasing on Otero Mesa."

The Tenth Circuit Court upheld a previous ruling in federal district court that the BLM could not issue a new lease without further National Environmental Policy Act requirements.    » read more »

April 22, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today ushered in a new era of energy development in Colorado, signing into law a bill that implements new oil-and-gas drilling guidelines.

"House Bill 1292 and the new guidelines will allow the industry to grow in a way that is sustainable and compatible with our entire economy," Gov. Ritter said. "These rules were shaped with valuable input from people all across the state and unanimously adopted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. They strike the right balance, a balance that recognizes the importance of a healthy industry and the importance of healthy communities, water supplies and wildlife.    » read more »

Impact Assistance Funds will Help Gulf States, Alaska and California to Restore and Protect Coastal Areas

April 20, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Six U.S. coastal states will share nearly half a billion dollars from offshore oil and gas revenues in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to help restore and protect coastal wetlands, wildlife habitat and marine areas, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today. The funds are available for approved uses by Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and their coastal local governments.    » read more »

Bush Plan Neglected Impacts on Marine Mammals, Environment

April 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. A federal appeals court threw out plans to expand off shore drilling in Alaska today. The court sided with environmentalists, ruling that a Bush administration plan opening drilling in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas failed to consider impacts on marine life and the environment. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are home to roughly one-tenth of the world's polar bears, as well as walruses, seals and whales.

Statement of Sierra Club Lands Director Athan Manuel:    » read more »

April 17, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today objected to a court ruling that undermines the federal leasing program for oil and gas reserves in the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi seas.

The finding by a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., in a lawsuit brought by environmentalists against the Interior Department during the Bush administration, comes just three days after Alaskans had an unprecedented opportunity to voice their opinions on off-shore drilling in a hearing before Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.    » read more »

April 15, 2009 -- San Francisco, CA - Hundreds of California residents, fishermen, scientists, environmentalists and youth are expected to speak out against proposed offshore drilling plans tomorrow at a public hearing held by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in San Francisco. This is the last of four hearings and the only one held on the West Coast.    » read more »

March 25, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.- The biggest public lands bill in decades cleared its final hurdle today, when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass it. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 safeguards millions of acres of new wilderness, protects hundreds of miles of rivers, expands trails, and keeps critical habitat in Wyoming safe from oil and gas leasing.    » read more »

Oil Spills are a Real, Costly Risk We Face in Light of the Recently Lifted Moratorium

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2009) – Twenty years after the massive Exxon Valdez oil disaster in Alaska, oil spills still occur and the risk of them happening up and down the East and West Coast has increased after the more than three-decade moratorium on offshore drilling was lifted in the waning months of the Bush Administration.    » read more »

March 05, 2009 -- NEW YORK -- Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today announced plans to invest at record levels -- between $25 billion and $30 billion annually over the next five years -- to meet expected long-term growth in world energy demand.

“The global economy is currently experiencing a downturn, but at ExxonMobil we are focused on the long term,” Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer, said at an annual briefing for investment analysts at the New York Stock Exchange.    » read more »

Provides More Time for Public Comment; Incorporates Renewable Energy

Feb. 10, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Saying he needed to restore order to a broken process, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced his strategy for developing an offshore energy plan that includes both conventional and renewable resources.

His strategy calls for extending the public comment period on a proposed 5-year plan for oil and gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf by 180 days, assembling a detailed report from Interior agencies on conventional and renewable offshore energy resources, holding four regional conferences to review these findings, and expediting renewable energy rulemaking for the Outer Continental Shelf.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 16, 2008 -- In a Record of Decision issued today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will make land available for oil and gas leasing in the northeast portion of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).

“This action sets the stage for a major lease sale this fall. This is welcome news at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the pump,” said C. Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals, in signing the ROD.

At the same lease sale, the BLM also plans to offer land in the northwest portion of the NPR-A.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., 07/18/2008 – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on House Republicans’ planned trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska this weekend:

“This weekend, House Republican leaders will take their allegiance to the President’s failed policies to a new latitude. They will follow him all the way to the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska instead of touring the 68 million acres of onshore and offshore lands that oil companies have already leased, but have not developed.    » read more »