U.S. cancels plans for oil lease sales
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Interior Department announced Friday it is cancelling future lease sales and will not extend current leases in Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast, a decision that significantly reduces the chances for future Arctic offshore drilling.
The news follows a Sept. 28 announcement by Royal Dutch Shell that it would cease exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas after spending upward of $7 billion on Arctic exploration.
The company cited disappointing results from a well drilled in the Chukchi and the unpredictable federal regulatory environment.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the federal government is canceling federal petroleum lease sales in U.S. Arctic waters that were scheduled for 2016 and 2017.
U.S. astronaut breaks NASA record
WASHINGTON – Waking up hundreds of miles above the Himalayas, astronaut Scott Kelly broke the U.S. record Friday for the most time spent in space with 383 days.
Kelly is more than halfway through a yearlong mission at the International Space Station and will eventually set a record for the longest single U.S. space mission.
Kelly tweeted back to Earth that he hopes that his eventual 500 plus days in orbit will be exceeded by someone visiting Mars. He tweeted that his day began with a strikingly beautiful view of the Himalayas and vowed to visit them.
Kelly and his ex-astronaut twin Mark, on the ground, are part of an experiment on the long-term effects of space.
Russia’s Gennady Padalka holds the world record with 879 days in space.
Associated Press
