Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Houston, TX -- Today, local environmental and Indigenous activists will seek answers from BP following its announcement that it would be selling its entire Alaska portfolio to Hilcorp Energy. Following this, the activists went over to Hilcorp’s offices calling on them not to drill in the Arctic Refuge. A previously announced rally for today has been canceled following the news BP sold its Alaska portfolio.
Today’s efforts come as drilling in the Refuge is seemingly unraveling as the BP sale came on the heels of Interior Assistant Secretary Joe Balash, the official overseeing the effort to drill in the Refuge, resigning, and the news that SAExploration, the company behind proposed seismic testing in the Refuge, is facing a class-action lawsuit and being investigated by the SEC.
“The BP sale was just the latest evidence of the public backlash corporations will face if they seek to drill in the Arctic Refuge. The vast majority of the American people do not want to see this sacred place spoiled by drilling,” said Lena Moffitt, Senior Director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign. “The people will not stop until the Refuge is protected from dangerous and destructive drilling.”
Considered sacred to the Gwich’in Nation and key to their food security and way of life, the Arctic Refuge is a unique place that has been protected for generations, until a provision in the 2017 tax bill opened it for oil and gas leasing. The Trump administration has been pushing for drilling on an accelerated schedule ever since, and hopes to hold a lease sale in the coastal plain as soon as this winter.
“Any oil company attempting to destroy the Arctic Refuge will have to answer to the Gwich’in and to the millions of Americans who stand with us,” said Gwich’in Steering Committee Executive Director Bernadette Demientieff. “The coastal plain must remain protected, and we will continue to send this message to Hilcorp and the rest of the oil industry until they pledge to leave our sacred lands intact.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.