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Page added on November 1, 2012
Shell Completes 2012 Arctic Drilling Program
Shell has concluded its 2012 exploratory drilling programs in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
The mandatory close of the offshore Alaska drilling window “ends a season in which we once again demonstrated our ability to drill safely and responsibly in the Arctic,” Shell said.
“The work we accomplished in drilling the top portions of the Burger-A well in the Chukchi Sea and the Sivulliq well in the Beaufort Sea will go a long way in positioning Shell for another successful drilling program in 2013,” Shell commented.
Earlier this month, Shell began drilling the Sivulliq prospect in the Beaufort Sea following the conclusion of the fall Kaktovik whale hunt. Last month, Shell began drilling the Burger prospect in the Chukchi Sea using the drilling rig Noble Discoverer (mid-water drillship), Dow Jones reported Sept. 10.
Shell initiated its exploration program offshore Alaska after spending the past few years seeking regulatory approval for its exploratory drilling plans. The company, which has been active in Alaska since 1918, had previously drilled a number of wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the late 1980s but pulled out of Alaska after all of its Chukchi Sea leases were relinquished to the federal government.
The company’s 2012 drilling season was met with a series of delays, including the lack of certification of Shell’s modified oil-spill response vessel and damage to the system’s containment dome during a test last month.
Because of that damage, Shell revised its 2012-2013 exploration program to focus on drilling as many top holes as possible in the remaining season to prepare for operations in 2013.
Shell also had to interrupt drilling last month to avoid sea ice, Dow Jones reported Sept. 11.
Shell received permission Aug. 30 from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to move forward with limited preparatory activities in the Beaufort Sea for its exploration program there.
However, Shell was not allowed to drill into oil-bearing formations until the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement approved Shell’s Arctic Challenger oil-spill containment vessel.
Last month, BSEE granted Shell approval to conduct preparatory work for its Beaufort Sea drilling program, but also with the same restriction on drilling into oil-bearing formations.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Coast Guard granted certification for the Arctic Challenger containment vessel, which means Shell will have the necessary assets in place to drill and evaluate hydrocarbon zones in 2013, said Pete Slaiby, vice president of Shell Alaska, in an Oct. 12 statement. The containment vessel also received its American Bureau of Shipping certification.
“We are very pleased with the work we accomplished this year and look forward to picking up where we left off when the sea ice retreats next summer,” said Shell in its Wednesday statement.
A 2011 report by Northern Economics and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska estimates Alaska’s offshore to hold 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
10 Comments on "Shell Completes 2012 Arctic Drilling Program"
BillT on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 1:38 am
Until a big floating chunk of ice takes out the rig…lol.
poaecdotcom on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 2:14 am
The sad crack hound that is our oil based society….
Where next after the Arctic huh?
We will surely bit twitching out for another hit soon after that peaks.
Exponential growth people, it does not work indefinitely on a finite planet.
Deep breathe, Prepare and Go local…
Bill on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 3:51 am
Not quite a success story. How is paying for the exploration?
Arthur on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 10:28 am
Shell is not dead in a long shot. Last year they made $31 billion profit while producing less oil.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/02/417410/shell-produces-less-oil-but-2011-profits-soar-31-billion/?mobile=wt
In fact high oil prices do not hurt Shell at all. Until the end of times one barrel of oil represents eight man years of hard physical labor, so it does not matter if a barrel costs 100 or 300$, it will be sold anyway. Lower turnover will be compensated by higher prices, still leading to nice profits, until the end of the oil age, in the second half of this century.
BillT on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 12:43 pm
Arthur, I suspect little oil will be sold at $300. Or even $200. By that time, the tanking economy will have put the world into a decades long depression. No customers means lots of idle wells and rigs and massive layoffs that will never recover. What good is gold/oil if no one can afford it? Zero.
If you own oil stock, you need to look at the economic side of the equation also. I own no stocks and never did. I sleep without stress. The current EU system is hanging by a thread, waiting for the first country to default. That could happen this winter when people cannot afford to heat their houses and also buy food for their families. When that happens, the dominoes will fall all over the world. Wait and see.
Arthur on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 1:08 pm
I know your argument Bill, and yes what we are going to see is that people who earn little money will start to abandon their cars as oil prices increase. I won’t as I swapped my 27 mpg car for a 80 mpg car. I am ready for 300$ oil and with me many others. Nobody buys bigs cars anymore in Europe, if they buy cars at all. New cars will be on the European markets soon using only 240 mpg
http://tinyurl.com/bxeqb2d
And Shell will continue to make big profits for years to come at 200-300$ oil.
GregT on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 2:37 pm
Drilling for oil in the Arctic is yet another positive feedback loop in our desire for a more volatile global climate.
Arthur:
I hope your new car is armour plated, because I doubt the mass of unemployed hungry people will be all that enamoured with the small minority that still drive.
BillT on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 3:35 pm
GregT, you have that in one! Those who can still enjoy the luxury, that most now consider a right, will be targets. It would be like me driving down the streets of Manila in a $500k Maserati and expect to keep my life and freedom. Not going to last long. They might not take the car, but they would all know I was wealthier than they are and would kidnap me or worse. Flaunt it if you are foolish. Me, I’ll take the jeepney and wear my worn jeans and a Tee.
Arthur on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 6:57 pm
Greg, since its milage is 80 mpg it is not enarmoured but of aluminium. It weigs only 800 kg. I have enough common sense to know when to stop. Not sure about the US but here in Holland things are still more or less normal, except for the housing market being flat on its face, nobody buys a car, however everybody buys igadgets and twice a year on holiday is still the norm for many and nobody sleeps under the bridge or in the woods. Soupkitchen only for a few. Unemployment still low, a little bit growth. Such are the delights of Dutch socialism.lol
Arthur on Thu, 1st Nov 2012 6:59 pm
Oh, and my car is ten years old, not new.