By Katarzyna Klimasinska – Mar 30, 2012 9:00 PM GMT+0100
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)s plan for oil drilling off Alaskas north coast fails to deal with some risks linked to operating in the remote region, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.
The federal watchdogs comment strengthens calls from environmental groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Alaskan native people, that have been urging President Barack Obamas administration to delay Arctic oil exploration.
Ice that floats on the surface or scrapes the seafloor may hinder the response to a spill late in the drilling period, which runs from July 15 through Oct. 31. A lack of personnel and equipment near a remote drilling site may slow containment and collection of spilled oil, the agency said in a report released today by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Shell representatives told us that the company plans to have two concurrent drilling operations capable of providing mutual assistance, the watchdog said. But there are few additional resources available in the region to respond in the event that Shells capabilities are insufficient.
While Shell won the approval of its oil-spill response plans, the Hague-based company has yet to obtain Interior Department permits to drill any wells in the Arctic seas that may hold as much as 26.6 billion barrels of oil.
Beaufort, Chukchi
Shell, preparing to drill in the region for five years after spending about $4 billion on Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea leases, plans to use equipment designed specifically for icy Arctic conditions.
Our oil-spill response plan is second to none in the industry and we are proud of that, Curtis Smith, a Shell spokesman, said today in an e-mail. The recent approval of our Beaufort and Chukchi sea oil-spill response plans reinforces that our approach to Arctic exploration is aligned with the high standards the Department of Interior and the public expects.
The GAO report is one more powerful voice in favor of delaying Arctic drilling, Chuck Clusen, director of national parks and Alaska projects at the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said today in a phone interview. The NRDC joined Alaskan natives and other environmental groups in challenging the sale that gave Shell access to Arctic leases.
The Interior Department conducted exhaustive reviews of the plans, Nicholas Pardi, a spokesman, said today in an e- mail. The agency continues to hold the operators accountable with additional exercises, reviews and inspections to ensure that all personnel and equipment are positioned and ready.
To contact the reporters on this story: Katarzyna Klimasinska in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at [email protected]
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
