EPA issues permit for Arctic offshore drilling

Shell still waiting for other permits, as well as court ruling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency puts Shell Oil Co. one step closer to drilling in the Arctic this year, agency officials said Thursday.

The decision came a day after President Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, arguing that the U.S. needs to increase its energy production.

The EPA permit allows Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Dutch-owned Royal Dutch Shell PLC, to release up to 245 tons of nitrogen oxides at each of its drilling sites in the Beaufort Sea.

MSNBC