US Department of Interior Conditionally Approves Shell’s Exploration Plan For Certain Chukchi Sea Leases in Arctic
10 December 2009
The US Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Minerals Management Service (MMS) has approved, with conditions, Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s Exploration Plan to drill three exploratory, information-gathering wells in the Chukchi Sea.
In 2008, Shell’s subsidiary paid $2.1 billion for leases during Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193. The 2008 sale was included in the previous Administration’s 2007-2012 Five-Year Oil and Gas Leasing Program to cover leasing for oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf for that five-year period. The Exploration Plan now approved allows Shell to drill up to three exploration wells during the July-October open water drilling season.
Shell proposes activities using one drill ship, one ice management vessel, an ice class anchor handling vessel, and oil spill response vessels. The closest proposed drill site is more than 60 miles to shore and approximately 80 miles from Wainwright, Alaska.
Our approval of Shell’s plan is conditioned on close monitoring of Shell’s activities to ensure that they are conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. These wells will allow the Department to develop additional information and to evaluate the feasibility of future development in the Chukchi Sea.
—Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
The 2007-2012 OCS plan is currently undergoing review in response to a US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit order which required additional environmental analysis. The Secretary’s decision on the remaining plan is forthcoming.
DRILL BABY DRILL....everyone else is - why shouldn't we?
Posted by: ejj | 10 December 2009 at 01:54 PM
Actually what the US needs is a large program of building coal to transportation fuel factories. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 10 December 2009 at 03:48 PM
December 2009 - The DOI, MMS approves three exploratory, information-gathering wells in the Chukchi Sea.
December 2010 - US Court of Appeals rejects Shell's additional environmental analysis.
December 2012 - The DOI, MMS approves three more exploratory, information-gathering wells in the Chukchi Sea.
December 2014 - China buys Shell, drills in the Chukchi Sea, joins OPEC and raises oil price to $200/bbl.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 10 December 2009 at 08:53 PM
TT:
The end of an empire. The Dutch empire.
Posted by: sulleny | 12 December 2009 at 03:44 PM
Big wheels turn inside little wheels and always have. So much goes on behind the scenes that the average person has NO idea what takes place. We will see changes larger than the ice flows in coming years and we all have a front row seat for the changes to come.
Posted by: SJC | 13 December 2009 at 03:21 PM