Ice prompts Shell to halt oil drilling in waters off Alaska

A day after it began, the first oil drilling off in the Arctic waters off Alaska was halted today because of an approaching mass of ice, Royal Dutch Shell tells the Associated Press.

The drilling — a narrow 1,400-foot-deep “pilot hole” to check for natural gas or obstructions — began Sunday before dawn in the Chukchi Sea, about 70 miles northwest of the Alaskan shore. Work will resume once the ice, measuring about 30 miles by 12 miles, passes the Noble Discovererdrilling ship, a spokesman said, describing the halt as a precaution.

Opponents question how any spill, let alone something the magnitude of the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster, would be contained or cleaned up in the harsh polar environment. Shell said it was testing “the first-ever Arctic containment system” over the weekend.

The Anchorage Daily News has details and background about the exploratory drilling, which the Obama administration approved last month, with conditions. Unless the Interior Department grants an 18-day extension to complete the well, which will not reach oil reserves, Shell must stop drilling by Sept. 24. Warmer temperatures, the result of climate change, have caused record ice melt and open waters.

The drilling was to have begun earlier this summer but was delayed by various problems:

Shell began to drill almost two months later than planned because a key safety vessel, the oil spill containment barge Arctic Challenger, wasn’t finished. It remains at a shipyard in Bellingham, Wash. It is scheduled to leave the dock Sunday evening for two to three days of inspections at sea by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

The Interior Department granted Shell a drilling permit that requires it to stop far short of oil-rich zones until the Challenger is in place.

Shell also notified regulators it couldn’t meet some limits on air pollution emissions specified in an Environmental Protection Agency permit. The EPA issued a one-year order allowing Shell to operate, and said overall emissions should fall under the already approved cap.

In July, Shell’s Chukchi drilling rig, the Noble Discoverer, dragged anchor while at Dutch Harbor. It wasn’t damaged, and the Coast Guard cleared the ship to head to the Arctic.

Last week, the Norwegian government-controlled oil company, Statoil, said it was delaying its exploratory drilling in the Chukchi from 2012 to 2015 because of Shell’s difficulties.

“In the light of the significant uncertainty regarding Alaska offshore exploration, we’ve decided to take what we believe is a prudent step of observing the outcome of Shell’s efforts before finalizing our own exploration time frame,” a spokesman told Petroleum News.

In June, the Obama administration granted new leases for offshore gas and oil drilling.

Earlier today, Shell announced it was selling its 50% share of the deepwater Holstein Field, in the Gulf of Mexico, for $560 million. BP owns the other 50%.

USA Today