Italian energy giant Eni will start exploring for oil off Alaska after the United States authorized it to start drilling, despite environmental concerns. The US Interior Department’s safety and environment watchdog on Tuesday approved an application by Eni’s American subsidiary to drill wells under the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska.

It is the first time the US has issued a permit to drill in its Arctic waters since 2015. President Donald Trump has indicated that he will reverse a ban on offshore drilling in protected parts of the Artic Ocean that his predecessor, Barack Obama, introduced last year.