Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Anchorage, AK -- Today, BP announced that it was selling its entire Alaska portfolio, just ahead of a planned lease sale in the Arctic Refuge. Today’s news comes 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.
Considered sacred to the Gwich’in Nation and key to their food security and way of life, this unique place had 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.
“The Trump Administration and corporate polluters’ best laid plans to destroy the Arctic Refuge are unraveling with every day that passes,” said Our Wild America Director Lena Moffit. “The American people have made it clear the backlash that will come to any company that seeks to desecrate this pristine and sacred land, and BP clearly heard this message loud and clear. Make no mistake, Hilcorp must recognize the millions of people mobilizing to protect the Refuge and leave it intact.”
Earlier this year, leaders from the Gwich’in met with senior executives from BP at their Annual General Meeting, calling on them to stay out of the Refuge.
“We’re appreciative BP heard our demands and recognized that they’d have to answer to the Gwich’in and the millions of Americans who stand with us if they attempted to destroy the Arctic Refuge,” said Gwich’in Steering Committee Executive Director Bernadette Demientieff. “The coastal plain is no place for drilling, 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.