The federal government affirmed a 2008 lease sale for exploration in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. The decision means the Department of Interior will begin formal reviews of exploration plans in the region, which will include an environmental analysis.
The lease was tied in up the court system amid complaints about the extent of environmental vetting. A preliminary drilling campaign from Royal Dutch Shell off the Alaskan coast in 2012 was plagued by problems, including a grounded drilling rig, violations of air pollution limits, engine failures on a tow ship and an oil spill containment system damaged during testing.
Marissa Knodel, a campaigner for advocacy group Friends of the Earth, said the federal government appears “hell-bent” on opening the sensitive environment up for oil and gas exploration.
“It is unconscionable that the federal government is willing to risk the health and safety of the people and wildlife that live near and within the Chukchi Sea for Shell’s reckless pursuit of oil,” she said.
Shell had no public statement on the Interior Department’s decision. The company devoted about $5 billion and more than eight years of work for its arctic oil exploration off Alaska’s coast in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden last month acknowledged there were “technical, fiscal, regulatory, political” and other issues that may interfere with frontier development in the arctic.
Via upi.com
image credit APEonline
