Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that has cancelled the two potential Arctic offshore lease sales scheduled under the current five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) also denied requests from Shell and Statoil for lease suspensions, which would have allowed the companies to retain the leases beyond their primary terms of ten years.

Below is a statement from Andrew Hartsig, Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Arctic Program:

“We applaud the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s steps today to limit risky offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The economics of oil exploration in this frontier area have proved highly questionable, but is no question about the risks of Arctic drilling. In an extreme environment like the Arctic Ocean, a disaster like the Deepwater Horizon would devastate marine wildlife and jeopardize food security in Alaska Native communities.

“Going forward, we urge the Department of the Interior to remove Arctic leases from the next five-year program and continue to invest in science and planning efforts that will help ensure a vibrant future for Arctic communities, Arctic marine wildlife and the Arctic Ocean itself.”

Ocean Conservancy is working with you to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit www.oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.