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BBC News
Published
image copyrightGetty Images
image captionThe controversy over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been ongoing since 1977
The Trump administration has held the first sale for rights to drill for oil in Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - but it drew no interest from major companies.
An Alaskan state agency emerged as the primary bidder at the auction, which has been heavily criticised by environmental groups.
The sale raised less than $15m (£11m) - far less than the government had hoped.
The tepid interest comes amid big changes in the energy industry.
Major companies, including oil giant Exxon, Shell and BP, have said they are focusing their spending on renewable energy, amid a huge slump in oil prices, in part triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizations that sought to block the issuance of leases expressed disappointment with Gleason s ruling but vowed to keep fighting.
“This administration steamrolled through a disrespectful, harmful, illegal leasing plan, and we plan to stop it,” said Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, which was formed by Indigenous leaders who oppose drilling in the refuge. “While that didn’t happen today, that day will come.”
Nicholas Goodwin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Interior Department, called the ruling expected and unsurprising. The Department of the Interior looks forward to proceeding with appropriate dispatch to achieve the clear direction it received from Congress in 2017.”
iPolitics By Quinn Barrie-Watts. Published on Jan 6, 2021 11:59am (Gina Dittmer via Public Domain Pictures)
The Lead
At the end of yesterday’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia announced a large cut in crude-oil production.
“We are the guardian of this industry,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Tuesday, stressing that the decision was made unilaterally by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman himself.
While Russia had been pushing for an increase of 500,000 barrels a day for February, Saudi Arabia announced an additional cut of one million barrels a day in February and March, while the remaining majority of the group’s output would remain unchanged. However, Russia and Kazakhstan will be allowed to produce a combined 75,000 barrels a day in those months.
Posted: Jan 06, 2021 11:39 AM CT | Last Updated: January 6
Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich in Steering Committee in Alaska, says the fight to stop new exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is far from over.(Chad Brown)
The chair of the Gwich in Steering Committee says a recent court loss is a disappointment but by no means the end of a long battle.
The first bids for resource exploration rights within Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will be opened Wednesday a setback for advocates who had hoped the U.S. District court would issue an emergency stop.
Bernadette Demientieff, chair of the Gwich in Steering Committee, says it s not the final word.