ALPINE, Prudhoe Bay oil field complex, 2006

SMALL FOOTPRINT PROMISE BROKEN: At Alpine, one of Arctic Alaska’s newest onshore oil fields, industry initially claimed that directional drilling technology would enable development of this field with only two drill sites and 115 acres or less of development. That promise was quickly replaced with the usual pattern of incremental sprawl seen elsewhere on the North Slope. In 2004 federal agencies approved industry plans to build five more drill sites connecting to the Alpine oil field. In total, Alpine plans now include seven drill sites, 33 miles of permanent gravel roads, two airstrips, two gravel mines, and 72 miles of pipeline covering some 570 acres. To fully develop the oil field, the Bureau of Land Management projects the addition of 24 more production well pads, seven airports, 150 miles of pipeline, 122 miles of gravel roads, and another 1,262 acres of tundra covered by gravel fill or mines.

For an excellent discussion on promises made and broken by proponents of oil drilling in Arctic Alaska see the report BROKENT PROMISES: THE REALITY OF OIL DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA’S ARCTIC published by THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY on November 12, 2009.