U.S. Blocks Hilcorp's Arctic Oil Project

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On December 26, officials denied Hilcorp Alaska's request to keep drilling rights in the Beaufort Sea, an area home to whales, seals, and polar bears.

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The company wanted to build a small artificial island five miles from the shore to pump enough oil to fill about 150 million barrels.

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Drilling projects such as this often raise concerns amidst experts as it puts wildlife at risk, and harsh conditions such as in Alaska, make it difficult to clean up oil spills.

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The project has faced problems since BP first found oil there in 1997, one of them being the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, after which they sold it to Hilcorp.

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Hilcorp representatives expressed frustration as after years of working to move the project forward, they were looking at options to develop Alaska's natural resources safely.

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Alaska's two senators, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, supported the project as they argued it would create jobs and provide energy while protecting the environment.

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A broader shift in how the government approaches Arctic drilling ‘s reflected, as the Department of Interior rejecting lease extension stops development within Arctic waters.

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If approved, the Liberty project would have been the first oil development project fully within federal waters in the Arctic Ocean.

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