Up to 5 wells planned for Beaufort, Chukchi seas this summer.
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY
Houston Chronicle
Published: June 4th, 2012 10:31 PM
SEATTLE — Alaska officials on Sunday toured two drilling rigs docked in a Seattle shipyard as Shell showed off improvements it has made to the vessels that are poised to begin boring exploratory wells in Arctic seas near Alaska within months.
Shell Oil spent roughly $2.2 billion buying drilling rights in the region beginning in 2005 and has since invested billions more trying to overcome regulatory hurdles, environmental concerns and legal challenges to kick off the exploration. But the company is now closer than ever to launching the drilling, with plans on track to sink up to five wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas north of Alaska this summer.
The tour on Sunday gave U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, both Republicans, a look at the drilling rigs before they set sail to open a new frontier in oil exploration. Alaska’s junior senator, Democrat Mark Begich, visited the ice-class vessels in late May.
Parnell said he was impressed by Shell’s readiness to handle a spill in the slushy, remote waters, amid concerns that such a disaster would strain Coast Guard resources and local infrastructure. read more
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