A new offshore drilling plan bars any sale of drilling rights from 2017 to 2022, a plan that could be undone by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. A five-year offshore drilling plan announced on Friday blocks the planned sale of new oil and gas drilling rights in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska. Besides Cook Inlet, the plan also allows drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, long the centre of U.S. offshore oil production. More than 70 per cent of Alaskans, including a majority of Alaska Natives, support offshore drilling, Luthi said. Nearly 400 scientists signed a letter this summer urging Obama to eliminate the possibility of Arctic offshore drilling.

Source: thestar November 18, 2016 18:54 UTC