BLM tightens land-use regs in NPR-A: Could they preclude discovery of another Willow oil find?

The U.S. Interior Department is tightening land-use protections in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. Companies hoping to find another big Willow oil discovery in the 23-million-acre reserve aren’t happy about it.

New land-use regulations for the NPR-A proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an interior agency, were announced in early October with a deadline for comments on Nov. 7.

Critics say the rules would have the reserve managed more like a national wildlife refuge or a national park, than as a reserve for U.S. petroleum security, the NPR-A’s original purpose.

It’s a sharp deviation from BLM’s traditional mandate of multi-purpose land management, the agency is being told in a public comment period now underway.

“The BLM claims this is just an update to dated regulations and just codifies the current IAP (Integrated Activity Plan for the NPR-A), but in our view, it is a major rewrite of the regulations which changes the original intent and desired outcomes for the reserve by modifying and significantly adding to the existing regs,” said Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

However, Emma Roach, BLM’s Alaska Communications Director, downplayed the adverse effects. “One of the goals for the proposed change is to codify the management of surface resources in the NPR-A to balance oil and gas activities with protection of surface values as required and to add clarity to the management of Special Areas,” Roach said in an email.

“The proposed rule would establish clear guidelines and incorporate the land use allocations, stipulations and restrictions … consistent with the statutory obligation to ensure maximum protection for resource values in Special Areas,” on 13 million areas reserved to protect sensitive habitat,

Moriarty doesn’t buy that, however: “The regulations propose to restate the whole purpose of the current regulations, and eliminates ‘requirements of the Act for petroleum exploration of the reserve’ and changes it to ‘mitigating the significantly adverse effects of oil and activities on the surface resources of the Reserve,” she said in an interview.

“Petroleum exploration and production is the primary purpose of the statute governing the NPR-A. This is just one example of the proposed rule that is contrary to the statute,” Moriarty said.

The petroleum reserve was established in 1923 by President Warren Harding as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4. It was shifted to the interior department in 1976. Despite extensive exploration little oil and gas was discovered until recently, with ConocoPhillips’ Willow find the largest. However, the government has also expanded protected areas in the NPR-A and about half of the reserve is no longer open to exploration.

Changes made during President Barack Obama’s administration closed off drilling in the northeast coastal area of the reserve, a sensitive ecological region but that is highly prospective for discoveries, geologists say. The government left exploration acreage open in inland, in places with less potential.

President Donald Trump attempted to at least partly undo some of the Obama-era changes but the Biden administration is rolling those back.

Roach said the new changes will not affect existing leases, like on ConocoPhillips’ Willow project. But people familiar with the region aren’t so sure.

Lease terms may not change but regulatory standards for lease operations could shift, according to Chad Padgett, a former BLM Alaska state director now on Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s staff.

New standards proposed would aim to achieve “maximum” protection of surface resources including forecasted cumulative effects. Those are typical for wildlife refuges and national parks but not for most BLM lands.

Maximum protection would also prevent infrastructure being built to support oil production, Padgett said.

Another new provision would allow BLM to expand or change existing protected areas in the reserve every five years.

Roach defended this, saying it is necessary to keep pace with changes in Arctic conditions brought about by climate change, and that it’s consistent with how BLM manages lands elsewhere.

Padgett challenged this, saying the NPR-A is managed under the National Petroleum Production Act of 1976, which is differeng than statutes guiding BLM’s management of lands. All this creates uncertainty for companies and could chill any appetite for new exploration, he said.

Moriarty, at AOGA, said the proposed rule appears to have been rushed out. “It is complex and a major departure from current policy. “The BLM should have undergone not only a full economic analysis, but there should also have been robust and proper consultation with Alaska Native tribes, communities, and the state,” she said.

“BLM should allow for more time for public comment, economic analysis, proper consultation and revise the regulations to support existing statutes and intent for NPRA,” Moriarty said.