Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

Shell expects to drill offshore Alaska this year

Screen Shot 2013-08-29 at 17.22.26
UPI article by Daniel J. Graeber published 12 March 2015

Shell’s preliminary drilling program in arctic waters offshore Alaska in 2012 was plagued by problems, including a grounded drilling rig, violations of air pollution limits, engine failures on a tow ship and an oil spill containment system damaged during testing.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 12 (UPI) — Drilling in the arctic waters of Alaska should proceed this year assuming timely approval from the U.S. federal government, Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday.

Shell’s preliminary drilling program in arctic waters offshore Alaska in 2012 was plagued by problems, including a grounded drilling rig, violations of air pollution limits, engine failures on a tow ship and an oil spill containment system damaged during testing.

Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in an annual report, published Thursday, the Interior Department was reviewing a supplementary environmental impact statement on operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

“We anticipate that the Department of Interior will continue to work in accordance with their proposed timeline to complete the [impact statement] in sufficient time to allow us to pursue our plans to drill in 2015,” he said in the report.

The Port of Seattle signed a two-year lease last month that would let Shell use a terminal as a base of operations for arctic drilling plans. More than 60 people spoke during a public forum to express frustration with the port’s decision earlier this week, the Seattle Times reported.

Advocacy groups argue drilling in the region would create substantial risks to the health of safety of people living in the region. Supporters view Shell’s planned operation as a source of economic stimulus.

Van Beurden said there were “technical, fiscal, regulatory, political” and other issues that may interfere with frontier development in the arctic.

“Failure to replace proved reserves could result in lower future production, cash flow and earning,” he said.

The company devoted about $5 billion and more than eight years of work for its Arctic oil exploration off Alaska’s coast in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

SOURCE

RELATED

Greens: Keep Shell off Seattle waterfront until legal fight resolve

Extract

The Port of Seattle “acted illegally and arbitrarily” in offering a home port to Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet and ignored one of Washington’s basic environmental laws, according to environmental groups going to court to block the lease.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.