Washington — A company has abandoned plans to conduct an aerial survey of potential oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge following stern warnings from US government scientists the work could harm polar bears.
Company representatives did not respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment. CGG told the New York Times it “is not considering that kind of work” in the Arctic refuge now. Oil companies rely on data about subterranean rock formations to discern the most promising locations to drill and how much they should bid on tracts, but without CGG’s aerial survey, they now will be forced to use limited information from 30-year-old seismic research.