Green light for ShellÔÇÖs Alaskan drilling program

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has given Shell Offshore Inc. the go-ahead to drill exploratory wells next year on two leases in the Beaufort Sea, off AlaskaÔÇÖs north coast. The company wants to drill two exploration wells in the western area of Camden Bay between July and October next year. The two leases, which were obtained by Shell in 2005 and 2007, lie around 16 and 23 miles north of Point Thompson, Alaska. The Beaufort Sea contains an estimated 8.22 billion barrels of oil and 27.65 million cubic feet of natural gas.  The wells will require an ice-breaking drilling rig as part of a fleet of 14 ships, boats, tankers, barges and tow vessels, as well as specialized ice and water containment equipment.  The company is planning to use the Frontier Discoverer to carry out drilling operations, a vessel that has been retrofitted and ice-reinforced for operation in Arctic waters. The MMS said that Shell must meet certain requirements pertaining to air and water quality, as well as marine mammal protection. ÔÇ£The Minerals Management Service is committed to responsibly developing offshore energy resources,ÔÇØ said MMS director Liz Birnbaum in a statement.  ÔÇ£Now that we have approved ShellÔÇÖs plan and reached this important milestone, we will continue to work with Shell to ensure that all activities are conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.ÔÇØ  Shell has said it will incorporate a mid-drilling season break into its plans, which will entail the removal of the drill ship to accommodate fall subsistence bowhead whaling by the Inupiat Eskimo villages of Kaktovik and Nuiqsut. Operations will be suspended from August 25 and Shell will move its vessels either to the north-west, or out of the Beaufort Sea entirely. It will then resume drilling after completion of the hunts, in late October.  Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith has said that the company will meet all state and federal legal requirements. ÔÇ£Shell has assembled the most environmentally sensitive and thoroughly responsible exploration plan in history. That includes a world-class oil spill response fleet that would be on-site 24/7 in the extremely unlikely event of a spill.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Recent trials in Norway again substantiate the majority of oil spilled on ice-covered waters can be removed.ÔÇØ Alaskan senators have praised the approval, saying they are encouraged that the state will continue to play a key role in the countryÔÇÖs energy security going forward. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *