Shell Arctic drilling program clears major bureaucratic hurdle

PanARMENIAN.Net - Royal Dutch Shell's Arctic drilling program has cleared a major bureaucratic hurdle to begin drilling for oil and gas off Alaska's northwestern coast this summer, the Associated Press reports.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Monday, May 11, approved the multi-year exploration plan in the Chukchi Sea for Shell after reviewing thousands of comments from the public, Alaska Native organizations and state and federal agencies.

The approval came just days before a planned protest of the drilling program in Seattle.

Shell must still obtain other permits from state and federal agencies, including one to drill from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Both BOEM and BSEE are agencies of the U.S. Department of Interior. The company must also obtain government opinions that find Shell can comply with terms and conditions of the Endangered Species Act.

Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said the approval “is an important milestone and signals the confidence regulators have in our plan. However, before operations can begin this summer, it's imperative that the remainder of our permits be practical, and delivered in a timely manner.”

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's director, Abigail Ross Hopper, said in a statement that officials recognize "the significant environmental, social and ecological resources in the region" and have established "high standards for the protection of this critical ecosystem, our Arctic communities, and the subsistence needs and cultural traditions of Alaska Natives."

"As we move forward, any offshore exploratory activities will continue to be subject to rigorous safety standards," she said, according to the AP.

The Port of Seattle would need to get another permit to base the Arctic drilling fleet in Seattle for about six months of the year.

Meanwhile, Smith said that a giant floating oil rig currently anchored off Port Angeles, Washington, will be towed to Seattle this week despite the Seattle mayor's assertion that the Port of Seattle can't host the rig until it gets a new land-use permit.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has urged the port to reconsider its two-year, $13 million lease with Foss Maritime, a company whose client is Shell.

Activists plan to protest. A so-called "festival of resistance" starts Saturday and will include protesters on land and in kayaks, trying to block the ship's movements. Environmental groups on Monday blasted the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for providing the permit to Shell.

Shell's drilling plan proposes to drill up to six wells within the Burger Prospect, located about 70 miles northwest of the village of Wainwright, Alaska. The wells would be drilled in about 140 feet of water by the Polar Pioneer and the Noble Discoverer. Both vessels would provide relief-well capability for the other.

Shell has said the two ships will leave the Chukchi Sea at the end of each drilling season.

Arctic offshore reserves are estimated at 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to U.S. Geological Survey estimates.