在北極國家野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)進(jìn)行鉆探離現(xiàn)實(shí)又近了一步

在北極國家野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)進(jìn)行鉆探離現(xiàn)實(shí)又近了一步

The prospect of drilling for oil and gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is looming ever closer with the Interior Department's release of its final environmental impact statement, which explains how and where oil companies can drill for oil.

隨著美國內(nèi)政部發(fā)布其最終環(huán)境影響聲明，在阿拉斯加的北極國家野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)(ANWR)開采石油和天然氣的前景越來越近。這份聲明解釋了石油公司如何以及在哪里開采石油。

Photo: Alan D. Wilson [CC by 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons

The Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will establish two area-wide leasing sales, not less than 400,000 acres each, along the Coastal Plain of ANWR. The move also authorizes up to 2,000 acres for surface facilities, according to the release. Exactly how much acreage will be up for lease has not yet been announced.

內(nèi)政部長將通過土地管理局(BLM)在ANWR的沿海平原上建立兩個不少于40萬英畝的區(qū)域租賃銷售。據(jù)新聞稿稱，這一舉措還授權(quán)多達(dá)2000英畝的土地用于地面設(shè)施。具體有多少土地可供出租還沒有公布。

Interior Department officials said options in the plan would protect caribou — which use the area as a calving ground — polar bears and migratory birds, not to mention the native populations that depend on this wildlife.

美國內(nèi)政部官員表示，該計劃中的選項將保護(hù)北美馴鹿、北極熊和候鳥，更不用說依賴這種野生動物的本土種群了。北美馴鹿將該地區(qū)作為產(chǎn)犢地。

Pools of tundra water just beginning to freeze for the winter in the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Refuge. (Photo: Troutnut/Shutterstock)

The draft followed an eight-month review process by BLM to determine the environmental impact of leasing the land for drilling. The draft was the "personal responsibility" of Joe Balash, a top official at the Department of the Interior who has since resigned to work for a Papua New Guinea oil company in Alaska.

在此之前，BLM進(jìn)行了8個月的審查，以確定租賃鉆井用地對環(huán)境的影響。這份草案是內(nèi)政部高級官員喬•巴拉什(Joe Balash)的“個人責(zé)任”。巴拉什后來辭職，為阿拉斯加的一家巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞石油公司工作。

Congress agreed the Department of the Interior could hold a lease sale of up to 800,00 acres of ANWR within the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the sale of land could generate almost $900 million for the federal government. This revenue is seen as vital because it would pay for tax cuts created by the Republicans' overhaul of the tax system.

國會同意，內(nèi)政部可以在未來10年內(nèi)租賃出售多達(dá)8萬英畝的ANWR。國會預(yù)算辦公室預(yù)計，出售土地可以為聯(lián)邦政府帶來近9億美元的收入。這項收入被視為至關(guān)重要，因為它將為共和黨改革稅收體系帶來的減稅買單。

When would drilling begin?

什么時候開始鉆井?

Native American leaders protest the prospect of drilling on the 58th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge outside the U.S. Capitol in December 2018. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Though it's much more likely now, drilling is unlikely for at least a decade.

盡管現(xiàn)在可能性更大，但至少在10年內(nèi)不太可能進(jìn)行鉆探。

The delay could be due to "required environmental scrutiny and permit reviews — and then the inevitable lawsuits from local communities and environmental groups opposed to any development in that rugged wilderness," point out Ari Natter and Jennifer A. Dlouhy of Bloomberg.

彭博社的Ari Natter和Jennifer A. Dlouhy指出，推遲開發(fā)可能是因為“需要進(jìn)行環(huán)境審查和許可審查，然后不可避免地會有來自當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)和環(huán)保組織的訴訟，他們反對在這片崎嶇的荒野上進(jìn)行任何開發(fā)”。

Plans to drill in ANWR have been a priority for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She says drilling will be boon to Alaska and the U.S., and that it will be done in a way that respects the environment.

阿拉斯加共和黨參議員麗莎·穆爾科斯基(Lisa Murkowski)是參議院能源和自然資源委員會(Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee)主席。她說，鉆探將有利于阿拉斯加和美國這將以一種尊重環(huán)境的方式來實(shí)現(xiàn)。

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) who is against the drilling, argues that "it turns this coastal plane and wildlife refuge into an oil field."

反對鉆探的華盛頓州民主黨參議員瑪麗亞•坎特韋爾(Maria Cantwell)認(rèn)為，“這會把這架沿海飛機(jī)和野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)變成油田。”

As Bloomberg pointed out in 2017, interest in drilling in ANWR may be not be particularly high given the costs involved in setting up operations in such a remote area. Still, provided decades-old projections are true, the lure of between 4.3 billion and 11.8 billion barrels of oil may be too much for energy companies to ignore.

正如彭博社(Bloomberg)在2017年指出的，考慮到在如此偏遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū)開展業(yè)務(wù)所涉及的成本，人們對在ANWR鉆井的興趣可能不是特別高。不過，如果幾十年前的預(yù)測是正確的，那么43億至118億桶石油的誘惑可能會讓能源公司難以忽視。