After the oil exploration did not start Alaska Arctic National Park (ANWR), following the extraction scheme, and A spokesman for the US Department of the Interior was quoted as saying that the local Kaktovik Inupiat company, which is requesting permission to seize seismic measurements for oilfield exploration, has not identified polar bear caves in the area by the February 13 deadline.
According to Melissa Schwartz, locating the caves of polar bears was essential to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to give permission to conduct seismic measurements near polar bears.
The company plans to take measurements on an area of about 140,000 hectares in the coastal area of the national park, but failure to meet the deadline is a breach of contract.
The Trump administration opened up part of Alaska, including some areas of ANWR National Park, to oil producers in early January.
The 78,000-square-kilometer wildlife sanctuary is a major habitat for many animals, including the polar bear, whose pregnant females in the area form nests carved into the snow and ice for themselves during the winter months to give birth to their young. As temperatures rise and sea ice shrinks, predators are forming caves on land, especially along the coastal plains of the game reserve.
The issued oil and gas extraction rights are valid for ten years.
It is estimated that approximately 11 billion barrels of oil could be hidden in a wildlife sanctuary, but in the absence of roads and other infrastructure, extracting in such an area is extremely costly. Several large US banks have indicated that they will not support extraction in the region.
President Joe Biden opposes oil production in the national park.
