Shell Oil ceases Alaska offshore Arctic drilling

The following article is from Portland's KOIN CBS station. It is reprinted here because we have been covering the local protests to the exploitation of nature by large corporations, most recently a citizen call to block Nestlé's use of water in the Oxbow Locks in the Columbia gorge along with an attempt this summer by a group of Greenpeace activists to block Royal Dutch Shell's icebreaker Fennica from leaving Portland's shipyard in route to Alaska.  This is a victory of sorts.  (See TigerLilies  'Water is sacred,' NO Nestlé  August 20, 2015)

 

With the Olympic Mountains in the background, a small boat crosses in front of the Transocean Polar Pioneer, a semi-submersible drilling unit that Royal Dutch Shell leases from Transocean Ltd. (Daniella Beccaria/seattlepi.com via AP, File)

By DAN JOLING, Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast following disappointing results from an exploratory well it just completed.
Shell found indications of oil and gas in the well in the Chukchi Sea about 80 miles off Alaska’s northwest coast, the company said Monday in a release from The Hague, Netherlands. However, the petroleum was not in quantities sufficient to warrant additional exploration in that portion of the basin, the company said.

An activist looks towards the rising sun as she hangs from the St. Johns bridge as part of a protest to block the Royal Dutch Shell PLC icebreaker Fennica from leaving for Alaska in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

“Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the U.S.,” said Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA, in the announcement. “However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.”

Shell will end exploration off Alaska “for the foreseeable future,” the company said.
The decision reflects the results of the exploratory well in the Burger J lease, the high costs associated with Alaska offshore drilling and the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska, the company said.

Shell has spent upward of $7 billion on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

Monday was Shell’s final day to drill this year in petroleum-bearing rock under its federal permit. Regulators required Shell to stop a month before sea ice is expected to re-form in the lease area.
The company reached a depth of 6,800 feet with the exploratory well drilling in about 150 feet of water.

Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and say industrial activity and more greenhouse gases will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals.

Over the summer, protesters in kayaks unsuccessfully tried to block Arctic-bound Shell vessels in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.