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| LNG site as of 2012 |
Two cancellations of energy projects that would have directly impacted sensitive ecosystems are in the news. Woodside Petroleum of Australia has cancelled its plan to build a $4.5 billion natural gas processing plant on the remote and nearly untouched Kimberly Coast of northwestern Australia. The ocean off James Price Point, the location of the proposed plant is a humpback whale nursery where thousands of humpbacks gather yearly to give birth. Blue whales also pass through to calve further north. Woodside had already cleared several permitting requirements, but decided the project was not economically viable after all according to a company announcement. Shareholders apparently agreed since their stock went up after the announcement. Building the project would have involved dredging up to six miles out to sea and constructing a large ship jetty several kilometers long smack into the middle of the whale nursery.
Last year, Aboriginal people became so concerned about the adverse effect of the project on humpbacks and other sea life they asked Sea Shepherds to help them halt construction of the LNG facility. The Goolarabooloo people said they were impressed with Sea Shepherds efforts to halt Japanese commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean. Sea Shephard's Captain Paul Watson accepted the invitation in a "spirit of eternal friendship". Sea Shepherds began to publicize the issue, organize supporters, and lobby politicians. The uncontaminated ocean at James Price Point encourages an abundance of green, flat back, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles as well as numerous species of migratory birds and fish. The director of Western Australia's EPA in a moment of candor admitted that turbidity from construction as well as spills an vessel strikes could adversely affect sealife. A company spokesman denied environmental activism played a role in its decision to cancel the project. After the cancellation the Goolarabooloo people and Sea Shephards are asking for an assessment of the site for protection under UNESCO's World Heritage treaty. Australia placed 19 million hectares of West Kimberly and its coastline from Cape Leveque to Cambridge Gulf on the National Heritage List last year.
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| Greenpeace ship Esperanza close to Shell's drilling |
Conoco-Phillips followed Shell Oil in canceling its 2014 exploration plans in Alaska's Chukchi Sea citing "the uncertainties of evolving federal regulation". It also said it need more time to "ensure that all regulatory stakeholder are aligned" presumably meaning it owns the privilege of aligning public servants to its own ends. Conoco was awarded 98 leases in the Chukchi Sea outer continental shelf. Shell shelled out $4.5 billion before it halted its Arctic drilling program. The Department of Interior told Shell it would have to provide detailed plans addressing numerous safety issues before it could resume its Arctic operations. The Arctic is melting beyond denial, but the conditions still present enormous challenges to offshore exploration and production. Maritime insurer Lloyds of London said in a report that drilling in the Arctic "a unique and hard-to-manage risk", an understatement that speaks volumes. Statoil, the Norwegian state oil company has also delayed its exploration plans after witnessing the difficulties of Shell which almost lost a drilling platform that broke loose from towing and grounded on a Kodiak island. Environmentalists are pleased oil companies are rethinking their plans for Arctic exploration given no company has demonstrated an ability to effectively clean up a major spill in frigid, ice covered ocean. Greenpeace trekkers to the North Pole hope to meet with Arctic Council members, the governing body comprised of foreign ministers and senior officials from Arctic states, at the pole to express their desire and the desire of 2.7 million supporters that the Arctic Ocean be made a world sanctuary.
