Alaska Exploration

“Alaska’s energy resources – onshore and offshore, conventional and renewable – hold great promise and economic opportunity for the people of Alaska and across the nation.”

“In the Arctic frontier, cautious exploration – under the strongest oversight, safety requirements, and emergency response plans ever established – can help us expand our understanding of the area and its resources, and support our goal of continuing to increase safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production. We are taking a cautious approach, one that will help inform the wise decisions of tomorrow.”

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
February 2012

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is committed to safe and environmentally-responsible operations throughout all of the exploration activities in the Arctic. View from Barrow, AK looking north to Chukchi Sea. May 2012. As the federal regulator, BSEE staff will rigorously oversee the operations planned for Summer 2012 in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. From the applications for permit to drill to the operator’s Oil Spill Response Plan, BSEE engineers, response specialists and inspectors are ensuring that operations are conducted safely at all levels at all times.