Shell to Stop Oil Exploration Near Alaska

  28 September 2015    Read: 808
Shell to Stop Oil Exploration Near Alaska
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Monday announced that it would cease its oil and gas exploration in offshore Alaska because of poor results and the project`s high costs.
On August 17, Shell was granted permission by the US authorities to begin exploratory drilling near Alaska, at one of the company’s wells at the Burger Prospect, located in the Chukchi Sea, that showed a lot of attributes consistent with a major petroleum basin.

“Shell will now cease further exploration activity in offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future. This decision reflects both the Burger J well result, the high costs associated with the project, and the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska,” the company`s press service said.

The company’s high-ranking officials, as quoted in the press statement, said that Shell considered offshore Alaska to be a territory of strategic importance for the United States, however, the field explored by the corporation had shown disappointing results.

In May, the United States approved a drilling lease for the oil giant to drill in the Chukchi Sea.

The US authorities were criticized by watchdogs for approving the drilling amid concerns that Shell projects in the Arctic pose threats to the environment because of the technical difficulties associated with extracting oil and gas from offshore fields in the region.

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