Filed from Houston
9/17/2007 1:42:54 PM GMT
USA/ALASKA: Following the Ninth Circuit Court’s recent stay of Shell’s 2007 Beaufort Sea drilling plan, the company has started staged layoffs of contract personnel, including workers from drillship Frontier Discoverer. Shell’s seismic program continues and staff involved in these operations, including Marine Mammals Observation, the Call Center and the Communication Center, remain employed.
Shell said that while it remains committed to Alaska, it regrets that it must release some personnel. The company said if the court reverses the injunction quickly, then Shell could proceed with its drilling program, either by reactivating the drillship or utilizing the Kulluk, a drilling rig specifically built for Arctic conditions and anchored in the Canadian sector of the Beaufort Sea.