"BP Is Pursuing Alaska Drilling Some Call Risky"

"The future of BP’s offshore oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico has been thrown into doubt by the recent drilling disaster and court wrangling over a moratorium.

But about three miles off the coast of Alaska, BP is moving ahead with a controversial and potentially record-setting project to drill two miles under the sea and then six to eight miles horizontally to reach what is believed to be a 100-million-barrel reservoir of oil under federal waters.

All other new projects in the Arctic have been halted by the Obama administration’s moratorium on offshore drilling, including more traditional projects like Shell Oil’s plans to drill three wells in the Chukchi Sea and two in the Beaufort.

But BP’s project, called Liberty, has been exempted as regulators have granted it status as an 'onshore' project even though it is about three miles off the coast in the Beaufort Sea. The reason: it sits on an artificial island -- a 31-acre pile of gravel in about 22 feet of water -- built by BP."

Ian Urbina reports for the New York Times June 23, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Alaska Wary Of Sending Too Much Spill Gear To Gulf" (Reuters)