Staff at the federal regulator gathered around a monitor to coo at a viral wildlife gallery, taking a three-minute break from processing the 400 deepwater drilling permits that will ensure the animals' eventual starvation.
Staff at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took a brief pause from finalizing the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program on Thursday morning to circulate a media gallery of the week’s best wildlife photography. The collection, which featured an adorable gosling, several amorous toads, and a chonky sea lion, reportedly brought a moment of levity to the permitting office just hours before officials approved the sale of the sea lion's primary Pacific breeding grounds to a consortium led by Chevron and TotalEnergies.
The subjects of the widely shared photo essay are currently existing in the narrowing window before the next global temperature anomaly or finalized infrastructure project. According to an environmental impact statement filed by Enbridge, the wetlands currently hosting the amorous toads are scheduled to be paved for a pipeline compressor station by early 2026, while the adorable gosling's projected migratory path will soon intersect with a newly permitted liquid natural gas flare stack in the Gulf of Mexico.
Look at the absolute unit on that sea lion. It’s exactly this kind of robust, charismatic megafauna that reminds us why we require operators to submit a lightly edited PDF about spill mitigation before we hand over 80,000 acres of their critical habitat.
Corporate sustainability officers were quick to capitalize on the viral moment. A spokesperson for ExxonMobil confirmed the company has already purchased the licensing rights to the chonky sea lion photograph, which will be featured heavily in its Q4 ESG disclosures to demonstrate the oil major's commitment to nature-based solutions. The sea lion’s notable girth, which marine biologists have attributed to the animal desperately gorging on shifting, climate-stressed fish stocks, was highlighted by the company as proof of a thriving, resilient ocean ecosystem.
The photographs are expected to make their next public appearance printed on glossy, single-use banners at the Nature Positive pavilion at COP29 in Baku, where delegates will once again decline to include the words fossil fuel phase-out in the final communiqué.