“To preserve his climate legacy, President Obama must change the course on Arctic drilling set eight years ago by former President George W. Bush, and not perpetuate it”, said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. With its capping stack device on hand, the federal government has given Shell approval to drill to oil-bearing depths.
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Shell, the Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company, has been given a permit to conduct exploratory drilling activities into oil-bearing zones offshore Alaska at one of its two wells at the Burger Prospect, said Brian Salerno, director of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) with the Department of the Interior. Shell said it was possible it could complete a well this summer, but it is not releasing a timeline for the drilling. They say oil companies have not demonstrated that they can clean up a spill in water choked by ice.
To ensure compliance with this and other conditions, BSEE safety inspectors have been present on the drilling units Noble Discoverer and Transocean Polar Pioneer 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide continuous oversight and monitoring of all approved activities.
“Granting Shell the permit to drill in the Arctic was the wrong decision, and this fight is far from over”, he said. “The people will continue to call on President Obama to protect the Arctic and our environment”.
Also, Shell is not allowed to conduct drilling at the two wells simultaneously. It has until late September, when all work must stop. The stack is staged on the vessel M/V Fennica which has now returned to the site after undergoing repairs after grounding on a reef in the area. It has two drill vessels and about 28 support vessels in the Chukchi Sea. Consistent with regulatory requirements, a USFWS Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued on June 30 requires Shell to maintain a minimum spacing of 15 miles between active drill rigs during exploration activities to avoid significant effects on walruses in the region. The equipment is on board the MSV Fennica, an icebreaker that had been in Portland for repairs and arrived on site last week.
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President Barack Obama is ending restrictions on Shell’s drilling in the Arctic Ocean – even as he prepares a trip to Alaska to highlight the dangers of climate change.
