May 25, 2013
Millions of dollars in potential taxes were a primary reason Royal Dutch Shell decided to move the Arctic-ready conical drilling unit Kulluk from Dutch Harbor before the end of the year, according to the company’s Alaska operations manager.
The taxes were part of a hierarchy of issues the Shell Alaska venture considered before moving the Kulluk — the centerpiece of Shell’s $4-billion-plus Arctic drilling program — Sean Churchfield, Shell’s Alaska operations manager, told a US Coast Guard marine casualty investigation Saturday.