It could set major oil companies against each other but also superpower against superpower as they scramble to exploit the last untapped giant reserves in a part of the world where territorial boundaries remain unclear. No wonder some fear a new cold war.
Posts on ‘August 12th, 2015’
The New Cold War: The Arctic
Can Shell afford Arctic oil?
Karl Mathiesen: Wednesday 12 August 2015
This is the first time the Anglo-Dutch giant’s star-crossed Arctic programme will drill deep enough to hit oil. The company has reportedly spent $7bn (£4.5bn) on getting to this point, including replacing its prize Kulluk rig after it ran aground off Alaska in 2012. For them to gain any of this back, a number of things need to happen.
BVB Personal Journey? Was it to a bank or a casino?
Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden claims that he has been on a personal journey in relation to authorising Shell’s latest Arctic gamble.
All due credit for the courage needed to take such a huge risk. The same applies to Shell’s takeover of the BG Group and the alliance with the corrupt and murderous Putin regime. All could go terribly wrong.
With regards to economics, the price of oil is an important factor in all three ventures. Shell has now admitted that oil prices are likely to remain low for some time.
Shell Arctic drilling ‘risky’ – ex-BP boss Lord Browne
By Roger Harrabin: BBC environment analyst: 12 August 2015
Drilling for oil in the Arctic may harm Shell’s reputation and cost it dear, the former BP boss Lord Browne has said.
Shell has just started preliminary drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea after several setbacks.
The firm’s CEO Ben van Beurden said he had gone on a “personal journey” before deciding the risks were containable.
But Lord Browne urged caution, saying the company’s long-term reputation could be affected.
Both men have given interviews to the BBC for a Radio 4 documentary series in the autumn – Climate change: Are we feeling lucky?
Shell Oil accidentally spills hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic gas in Deer Park
Dylan Baddour, Houston Chronicle: Tuesday, August 11, 2015
On Sunday morning, hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic gas were accidentally released from the Shell Oil facility in Deer Park.
According to reports from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 326,166 pounds of butadiene escaped through an open valve on a spherical tank between 10:40 am and 11:35 am.
Neil Carman, a chemist with the Sierra Club of Texas and a former power plant inspector for the TCEQ, said that butadiene is a known human carcinogen, but that its molecular structure allows it to dissipate quickly in the hot summer air. The chemical is commonly expelled in car exhaust, but Carman said the quantity in the Shell incident was concerning.
Shell Ready To Drill For Arctic Oil As Delayed Icebreaker Arrives
Unalaska community broadcasting – kucb 89.7 fm – channel 8
By John Ryan: Tuesday, August 11 2015
Shell’s wayward icebreaker made it to the company’s Arctic Ocean drilling site Tuesday. The arrival of the Fennica after a month’s delay means the company could get to drill for oil beneath the Chukchi Sea this summer.
Currently, Shell only has permission to do shallower drilling into non-oil-bearing rocks off Alaska’s northwest coast.
With the Fennica steaming toward the Arctic, Shell submitted an application to the Interior Department on Thursday for permission to drill into deeper, oil-bearing rocks.