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Page added on May 11, 2015
U.S. Approves Shell’s Plan to Drill in Arctic
Royal Dutch Shell’s return to oil drilling in the U.S. Arctic for the first time since 2012 took a big step forward on Monday when the Obama administration approved the company’s exploration plan.
The Department of Interior conditionally approved Shell’s plan to explore for oil in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Shell has already spent about $6 billion on exploration in the Arctic.
The Arctic is estimated to contain about 20 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas, but its recovery could be decades away.
Shell proposes to drill up to six wells in water about 140 feet (40 meters) deep, using two vessels that can serve as relief-wells for each other in case of an emergency.
“We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea,” said Abigail Ross Harper, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in a release.
As part of the conditional approval, Shell must obtain permits from the federal government and the state of Alaska in order to begin drilling this summer. Shell has not drilled in the Arctic since a mishap-filled 2012 season, when the company was forced to evacuate its Kulluk drill rig, which eventually ran aground. (http://reut.rs/1cqzAl9)
One of the vessels that Shell plans to use this summer, the Noble Discoverer, also had problems in the harsh Arctic waters in 2012. At one point it had to be towed to port after experiencing vibrations in a propeller shaft.
Several environmental groups are concerned about drilling in an harsh, pristine region with little capacity for emergency response. “Our government has rushed to approve risky and ill-conceived exploration in one of the most remote and important places on Earth,” said Susan Murray, an official at Oceana, a leading voice against Arctic drilling.
Even if Shell gets all the permits it needs, its Arctic aspirations may face a hurdle further south. Last week, the city of Seattle ruled that its port must apply for a permit to allow Shell to make it a hub for drilling rigs headed to the Arctic.
5 Comments on "U.S. Approves Shell’s Plan to Drill in Arctic"
GregT on Mon, 11th May 2015 6:18 pm
One positive feedback mechanism that we actually have the ability to stop, but of course we won’t.
Greed is far too powerful a motivator.
BobInget on Mon, 11th May 2015 11:25 pm
‘The White House’ knows better then any how desperate supply situation will be by the time Shell or Gazprom actually are able to bring home Arctic crude oil.
Shell at one time was the only ‘big oil’ company endorsing climate change research
science. The turn-round came when Arctic oil
became a possibility. Now its all any Northern
nations can think about.
Soon, big oil exploration teams will
be tripping over each other.
WE are totally screwed.
Perk Earl on Tue, 12th May 2015 12:38 am
I thought the price of oil was too low to pursue arctic oil.
Northwest Resident on Tue, 12th May 2015 1:38 am
Perk — You thought right. This announcement is meaningless if you ask me, EXCEPT that it serves to bolster the illusion of BAU forever. What’s J6P company retirement plan investor going to *think* when he reads the headline? Something along the lines of “sounds like my government and our wonderful high tech oil companies got it all figured out — I think I’ll keep my money invested in energy stocks because I’m telling you, those boys are good and they got it all figured out — I’m gonna make me some money on this bet!” In other words, exactly what they want him to think, for now.
Perk Earl on Tue, 12th May 2015 2:50 am
“In other words, exactly what they want him to think, for now.”
True enough, NR. Buys TPTB more time to enhance their golden parachutes for that time when all hell breaks loose and J6P comes unglued because he’s been taken right to the edge of something he’d allowed himself to be conned into. But TPTB will know when to get out of Dodge.
It’s really amazing how much of a herd mentality there is. We watched a documentary on Jimi Hendrix and when he was first playing in nightclubs the woman that discovered him was amazed how indifferent people in the club were to his mastery of the guitar. What they needed was enough other people to say ‘look this guy is really great’ to accept it. Most people just want to be reassured and follow the pack. Good luck with that routine.
On another topic, that Greek situation just keeps getting more pressured. Now Greek banks are taxing people for cash withdrawals. Is that a laugh or what? Is it really that big a deal to let them out of the Euro to get their own currency so they can print a new fiat until they have hyperinflation?