The Trans-Alaska Pipeline at Paxson.

-

PURESTOCK / SIPA

The new US president is set to inherit a hot environmental dossier.

In a last-ditch effort to authorize drilling in the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge, home to polar bears and caribou, Donald Trump's government has formally launched the process of selling oil and gas concessions in this area.

This decision means that the sale could take place before January 20, the inauguration date of Joe Biden, who has promised to protect this coastal region of northeastern Alaska.

A text voted at the end of 2017

The Interior Ministry plans to publish a document in the US Official Journal on Tuesday calling on interested companies to let them know on which plots of the country's largest protected natural area they might wish to file a case.

It thus obeys a text passed at the end of 2017 by the American Congress, which had allowed the authorities to sell oil and gas concessions in this region which is also home to wolves and migratory birds.

The ministry had already approved in August a program paving the way for drilling in a coastal area along the Arctic Ocean, covering a total of 6,500 square kilometers.

The first of these operations could concern 1,600 square kilometers.

Companies should express their interest and submit comments by December 17.

A call for tenders will then be launched "at least 30 days before the date of the sale", specifies the ministry.

Before Joe Biden arrived

For his part, future President Joe Biden assured that he would take measures to permanently guarantee the protection of the refuge from his first day in the Oval Office on January 20.

He also planned to ban new permits for oil and gas drilling on state-owned land as well as in the open sea.

For Niel Lawrence, head of the Alaska zone for the American association for the protection of the environment NRDC, the ministry's decision "once again illustrates the refusal of the Trump administration to accept reality".

"No one should underestimate the willingness (of the current government) to ignore the law in order to advance its program, but I do not see how they could sign any concessions before being pushed towards the exit," he said. he adds.

The process usually takes three to four months, said Niel Lawrence.

And environmental organizations are ready to wage a legal battle.

The jobs argument

Alaskan oil companies and rulers have been pushing for about 30 years to exploit the resources of this national refuge.

The federation of the main companies in the sector, the American Petroleum Institute, welcomed the progress of the "long overdue" process.

Hydrocarbon development in this area will "create well-paying jobs and provide a new source of income for the state - which is why a majority of Alaskan residents support" the project, the business official said. regulations of the federation, Frank Macchiarola, in a message sent to AFP.

However, with the prices of black gold at a low level, it is not certain that the concessions offered by the State, in an area far from any major infrastructure and where the exploitation of oil and gas could turn out to be costly, attract the top names in the sector.

Especially since they could face environmental controversies.

Several large American banks, such as Goldman Sachs or Wells Fargo, have already indicated that they would refuse to finance oil drilling in the Arctic.

Planet

Climate: Joe Biden agrees to join the Paris agreement, if elected

World

US presidential election: Biden wants to reverse Trump's climate-skeptical decisions

  • Alaska

  • Planet

  • Joe biden

  • United States

  • Oil

  • Donald trump