Arctic Ocean

KEY FACTS

American's Arctic Ocean: Beaufort & Chukchi Seas. Most Recent Protection: In January 2016, President Barack Obama designated portions of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off-limits to future oil and gas leasing via permanent withdrawals (9.8 million acres in 2015 and 115 million acres in 2016). Drilling Threats: The proposed 2019-2024 5-Year National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for offshore drilling included three lease sales each in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; directional drilling into federal waters from current leases in the Beaufort Sea. 3 million acres in the Beaufort Sea remain open to oil and gas leasing. Climate Change Impacts: The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, leading to melting sea ice and global sea level rise. Risk: According to the federal government, the risk of a major oil spill in the Arctic Ocean could be as high as 75%. Wildlife: The Arctic Ocean is home to walrus, whales, birds, seals and the entire population of U.S. polar bears.

America's Arctic Ocean, the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, is home to polar bears, bowhead whales, walrus and many other iconic marine animals. Yet oil and gas development remains a threat to these waters despite a serious lack of scientific understanding of the region and no credible means for cleaning up an oil spill in the Arctic's harsh and remote conditions. America’s Arctic is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change – warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world – and offshore drilling will only exacerbate the problem.

The Obama administration protected 125 million acres of ecologically sensitive marine environments, the entire Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea. This was done with the authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). President Trump signed an executive order seeking to undo President Obama’s use of that authority, reopening the entire Arctic Ocean to oil and gas leasing. The Trump administration barreled forward with regulatory rollbacks and offshore leasing instead of maintaining the publicly-supported and scientifically sound protections for America's Arctic Ocean. On day one of the Biden administration the Obama era protections for were reaffirmed. We must continue to seek permanent legislative protections for all of our coasts from new offshore oil and gas development. Please see below for relevant legislation, talking points, fact sheets, and more on what we're doing to defend the Arctic Ocean.

Fact Sheets | Congressional Letters | Maps | Research & Reports

Recent Legislative Activity

• H.R. 544, Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act (116th Congress)
  • This bill would prohibit oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Planning Area of the Outer Continental Shelf.
  • To cosponsor, email Logan Ferree (mailto:logan.ferree@mail.house.gov) in Representative Huffman's office (D-CA).

Talking Points

• Arctic communities, scientists, and a majority of Americans recognize that Arctic drilling is too risky and too dirty to allow. We must permanently protect the 125 million total acres withdrawn from leasing by administrative actions in 2015 and 2016, not move towards opening them for development including through a new oil and gas leasing program.
• The risk of an oil spill is proven and it is significant – if oil spills, it will be a disaster. As we’ve seen from the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez spills, there is no such thing as an effective clean up: once oil has been spilled, the battle has been lost. In the Arctic, the Department of the Interior’s own assessment found that there was a 75% chance of an oil spill of greater than 1,000 barrels with just the Chukchi Sea leases sold under the Bush administration.
• The Arctic is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change – warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world. Reserves in the Arctic Ocean amount to 23.6 billion barrels of oil and 104 trillion cubic feet of natural gasand have the potential to release 15.8 billion tons of carbon if exploited – an amount equivalent to the emissions from all U.S. transportation modes for nearly a decade. Sea ice is declining, permafrost is melting and coastlines are eroding, and in order to avoid exacerbating these problems, Arctic Ocean oil must remain right where it is.

Fact Sheets

• Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act
• Remote Arctic Ocean Drilling Carries 75% Chance of an Oil Spill
• Protect Our Coasts: Threats from Offshore Drilling 101

Congressional Letters

• Letter from House Democrats to Acting DOI Secretary Bernhardt Concerning Oil and Gas Activity During Government Shutdown, January 2019
• Bicameral Letter to DOI Secretary Zinke Opposing Beaufort Sea Lease Sale, April 2018
• Letter from House Democrats to DOI Secretary Zinke Opposing Draft Proposed 2019-2024 Offshore Drilling Program, January 2018
• Letter from Senate Democrats to DOI Secretary Zinke Opposing Draft Proposed 2019-2024 Offshore Drilling Program, January 2018
• Letter from House Democrats to DOI Secretary Zinke Urging the Exclusion of the Arctic Ocean from the 2019-2024 5-year Plan, August 2017
• Letter from Senate Democrats to DOI Secretary Zinke Opposing Leasing in the 2017-2022 5-Year Plan for Request for Information, August 2017

Maps

• Map of 2020 Beaufort and Chukchi Sea OCS Leases
• Map of 2018 Beaufort Sea OCS Leases
• Map of 2017 Chukchi Sea OCS Leases
• Oil & Gas Leasing on Alaska's North Slope
• Arctic Values Map

Research & Reports

• Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan Would Be an Environmental Disaster - Center for American Progress, October 2019
• Trump's Interior Department Is Ill-Prepared to Deal with the Next Big Spill - Center for American Progress, January 2018
• The Fate of the Arctic in Offshore Oil Blowouts - Natural Resources Defense Council, December 2016