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Salazar said in his prepared testimony that while most of the proposed 5-year OCS program's lease sales are in the gulf, two have been proposed in the Arctic, "where we must proceed cautiously, safely, and based on the best science available." The sales would not take place until late in the program so DOI can properly evaluate their potential impacts and assure that the necessary accident and spill response infrastructure is in place, he said.
Tommy P. Beaudreau, director of the new US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told the committee that the agency plans to spend millions of dollars for research on climate change, marine mammal migration, ocean currents, and other issues. "All of this information is necessary as development in the Arctic proceeds," he said. "The scale of this development will depend on our evaluations. We will make those decisions at an appropriate time in the leasing schedule."
Conditional permits
Another committee member, Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), who mentioned that she has introduced a bill that would require companies drilling offshore to have a worst-case spill scenario as part of their plans, said that Shell Exploration Co.'s plan for its Arctic leases envisioned responses in August, when conditions would be most favorable. Beaudreau responded that Shell's permits included a condition requiring it to satisfy BOEM that its spill response capabilities would be adequate in any season.
Deputy US Interior Sec. David J. Hayes also is overseeing a multiagency effort coordinating governmental agencies' reviews of Shell's drilling plans, BOEM's director said. "There are challenging circumstances there," he observed. "The regulations set a very high bar to spill response. Close attention must be paid to challenges in the Arctic."
Other Republicans on the committee questioned whether companies would be willing to fund seismic research of areas presently not part of the proposed 5-year OCS program if lease sales aren't scheduled. They also said that Salazar's references to strong activity in the gulf ignored the fact decisions in previous administrations made it possible. "The average time period from a lease sale to first production is 9.5 years," said Bill Flores (R-Tex.). "For this administration to take credit for current activity is remarkable."
Salazar responded that oil and gas industry response to previous OCS lease sales also should not be overlooked. "It's a shared accomplishment. The oil and gas production we're seeing in the gulf is largely dependent on the discoveries the industry has made," he said. "We see robust production going on in the gulf today. Our expectation is with 12 additional lease sales there in the next 5 years, more production will come on line."
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