C
Captain Compassion
Guest
Shell ordered to suspend Arctic drilling
By MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 21, 12:45 AM ET
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A federal appeals court has ordered Shell Oil to
stop its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska at
least until a hearing in August.
The order, issued Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
comes after the federal Minerals Management Service in February
approved Shell's offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.
"Vessels currently located in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas shall
cease all operations performed in furtherance of that program, but
need not depart the area," the order said.
Opponents contend that the Minerals Management Service approved
Shell's plan without fully considering that a large spill would harm
marine mammals, including bowhead and beluga whales. They say polar
bears could also be harmed, and they question whether cleaning up a
sizable spill would even be possible in the icy waters.
Company officials are obviously disappointed, said Shell spokesman
Curtis Smith.
"But the court has asked for more information, and we will provide it.
We will comply with the court order and continue to welcome
discussions with the North Slope communities," he said. "Alaska is a
long-term investment for Shell."
Shell was the high bidder in two recent lease sales for offshore
tracts in the Arctic. In 2005, Shell Exploration & Production Co.,
part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, spent more than $44 million for
offshore leases in the Beaufort Sea.
In April, the company intensified its program by bidding $39 million
for offshore leases, including more than $14 million for Flaxman
Island northwest of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The plan submitted by Shell Offshore Inc. proposed to drill as many as
12 exploration wells on 12 tracts over three years, including four
exploration wells this summer. That prompted a lawsuit by the North
Slope Borough, several conservation groups and a group of American
Indians and Alaska Natives.
A hearing is planned for Aug. 14 in San Francisco.
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
By MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 21, 12:45 AM ET
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A federal appeals court has ordered Shell Oil to
stop its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska at
least until a hearing in August.
The order, issued Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
comes after the federal Minerals Management Service in February
approved Shell's offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.
"Vessels currently located in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas shall
cease all operations performed in furtherance of that program, but
need not depart the area," the order said.
Opponents contend that the Minerals Management Service approved
Shell's plan without fully considering that a large spill would harm
marine mammals, including bowhead and beluga whales. They say polar
bears could also be harmed, and they question whether cleaning up a
sizable spill would even be possible in the icy waters.
Company officials are obviously disappointed, said Shell spokesman
Curtis Smith.
"But the court has asked for more information, and we will provide it.
We will comply with the court order and continue to welcome
discussions with the North Slope communities," he said. "Alaska is a
long-term investment for Shell."
Shell was the high bidder in two recent lease sales for offshore
tracts in the Arctic. In 2005, Shell Exploration & Production Co.,
part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, spent more than $44 million for
offshore leases in the Beaufort Sea.
In April, the company intensified its program by bidding $39 million
for offshore leases, including more than $14 million for Flaxman
Island northwest of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The plan submitted by Shell Offshore Inc. proposed to drill as many as
12 exploration wells on 12 tracts over three years, including four
exploration wells this summer. That prompted a lawsuit by the North
Slope Borough, several conservation groups and a group of American
Indians and Alaska Natives.
A hearing is planned for Aug. 14 in San Francisco.
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
