ExxonMobil disclosed to shareholders last week that it doesn’t anticipate to increase its operations across the Arctic.
“Our present investment strategies don’t include exploration in the (global Arctic) region, and we expect to make a relatively small investment to support our current investments in the region” it stated in a proxy statement issued on April 13. statement.
Exxon has been an important participant of Alaska since the beginning of the oil industry in the state. It is a shareholder in the biggest oilfields in Alaska which include Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk, and Point Thomson. Exxon also holds a 21% stake in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Environmental groups hailed the news as a signal that the lease sale next year for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will prove to be a complete failure.
“I think this is a sign that the oil industry is losing its interest in Arctic and also recognizing that it’s not a good investment, and also a not a good business model,” said Tim Woody who is a spokesperson on behalf of The Wilderness Society in Alaska.
The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and other organizations have been working hard in the past to create conditions that make Arctic undesirable to oil companies. This is done by urging major insurance and banking institutions to stop supporting industrial development in the region.
Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association The statement by Exxon does not suggest any change in its strategy for the region.
“And it doesn’t say that they don’t have any interest because in the event that they were not interested then their assets could be sold,” she said.
Tax law Congress adopted in 2017 obliges the federal government to organize a second lease sale within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by 2024’s end. The first auction was a failure, with only a few bids and only a small fraction of the revenues anticipated. The sole bidderthat is able to keep its leases for this refuge has been a state-owned company known as Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
