Begich Statement on BOEM Conditional Approval for Shell 2012

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich today released the following statement after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced conditional approval of Shell’s Revised Chukchi Exploration Plan which includes a condition of cutting the drill season by 38 days:

“I am concerned that today’s short-sighted decision is influenced by election year politics instead of the long-term energy and jobs needs of our country. I am disappointed that the Administration has diverted from months of positive progress and thrown this last-minute monkey wrench into Arctic development. 

“Alaska has done off-shore exploration before, we’ve done it safely, and the technology is better now than it has ever been.”