BP Plans Risky Drilling From Fake Alaska Island

BP awaits final go ahead for its next ambitious drilling project, reports the New York Times, this time just off the Alaskan coast. Although approved as an onshore project, and thus not affected by a moratorium on offshore drilling, the location sits three miles off the coast in the Beaufort Sea. How was this possible? BP will drill from an artificial island—a 31-acre pile of gravel in about 22 feet of water.

The plan is to drill two miles under the sea and then six to eight miles horizontally to reach the oil reserve, a method called extended-reach drilling. While this process diminishes direct environmental impact of drilling, critics argue the unique risks involved pose greater dangers than traditional deep water drilling. Read the full article. (More Deepwater Horizon stories.)