Tweet
On Tuesday, Shell Oil’s wounded conical drill rig, the Kulluk, was towed out of Kiliuda Bay on Kodiak Island, headed back to Dutch Harbor, and from there, to a Korean shipyard.
Today, the oil giant announced the following:
“We’ve made progress in Alaska, but this is a long-term programme that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way,” said Marvin Odum, Director, Upstream Americas. “Our decision to pause in 2013 will give us time to ensure the readiness of all our equipment and people following the drilling season in 2012.”
Alaska holds important energy resources. At the same time, securing access to those resources requires special expertise, technology and an in depth understanding of the environmental and societal sensitivities unique to the region. Shell is one of the leaders in an industry move into offshore Arctic exploration. The company continues to use its extensive experience in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments to prepare for safe activities in Alaska.
Alaska remains an area with high potential for Shell over the long term, and the company is committed to drill there again in the future. If exploration proves successful, resources there would take years to develop.
Shell’s other rig which had been used in their trouble-plagued 2012 season, the Noble Discoverer, is berthed in Seward, Alaska, awaiting arrival of a giant floating, powered dry dock, which will bring it to an Asian ship yard.
Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, according to my talk with his D.C. staff last week, has moved his Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard hearing or hearings on Shell’s 2012-2013 conduct from March to May, but provided no further detail.
The Department of Interior will be issuing their report on Shell’s permit to drill in the Arctic by March 10th.
The U.S. Coast Guard has turned their findings on the Noble Discoverer‘s severe shortcomings over to the U.S. Justice Department, for possible criminal prosecution.
And the blog, Alaska Chinook, is reporting the following:
According to reliable sources, a member of the Alaska delegation may soon be under indictment for back-door pressuring the EPA to allow SHELL to move forward with its 2012 drilling program – which culminated with environmental crimes. When it became known that contaminated engine fuel could not meet the EPA “Air Quality” permitting and such would have caused SHELL to vacate any attempts to continue its 2012 exploration program, a project that has seen a whole lot of discomfort and controversy so far, instead of not backing off and adhering to its permitting criteria, SHELL was given the “Green light” to continue on with its program.
Stormy weather ahead for Shell.
19 Comments
Which once again shows:
They have cost themselves more money than any protest.
All the water’s brown (…all the water’s brown)
In that Arctic bay (…in that Arctic bay)
Where the Kulluk wrecked (…where the Kulluk wrecked)
On that winter’s day. (…on that winter’s day)
What knuckleheads decided (…knuckleheads decided)
That drilling was OK? (…drilling was OK)
Drilling in the Arctic,
On such a winter’s day?!
Drilling in the Arctic,
On such a winter’s day?
Again, thanks for your seemingly tireless efforts here, to bring us the latest.
With
apologiessincerest thanks to Simon and Garfunkel for the poetic meter.The Mamas and the Papas, actually. But thanks!
And seconding Non’s thanks to ET!
Dropping by, on way from work to home, and to the Wasilla clinic. I developed an infected sebaceous cyst over the weekend, and had it lanced Monday. Been on heavy antibiotics since, including IV yesterday, while trying to keep on working.
Trying to find out more on the extent o possible criminal charges against Shell, but getting nowhere.
Eeek! Eat lots of chicken soup with garlic, ET!
The only thing that keeps capitalists from totally fucking up the environment is that they are generally too cheep and to incompetent to do it.
And real fair dinkum yoghurt!
“We broke everything we use to drill; we have to stop for now.”
/Shell environment degraders
I feel as though we may have dodged a bullet this time, going back to the “dome on the lake” debacle, I didn’t see this ending well. Better Shell paying for its incompetence and hubris with a capital loss than Niger Delta sheen on the Alaskan coast.
Feel better ET.
So, if Shell is prosecuted (fat chance) for “back door pressuring” the EPA, will any EPA officials be reprimanded or even named for giving in to such pressure?
I just wonder how that pressure was applied. A two-martini dinner? A night on the town? A free lunch? A fine cigar!
Dang, ET, best healing vibes headed your way…!
Possible criminal prosecution? By DOJ? Oh, you mean like BP in the gulf! Or the banksters.
Yeah, criminal prosecution. It’s alive and well. Especially concerning oil wells.
Take care of yourself, ET. Phone home often!
Thank you for the update, ET. I’m sure Shell’s planning to use this down time productively. Improvements to their media blackout programs, etc.
Color me slightly embarrassed. Thanks for refreshing my memory. ;^)
Were they not sure of the readiness of their equipment and people in 2012?
If not, that’s a pretty damning statement.
If so, then they seem to be admitting that their process for evaluating the readiness of their equipment and people is inadequate to the task. If they thought they were ready, and all this happened, I’ve got serious questions about what they think “ready” means.
Either way, this statement seems to be a serious admission against interests for anyone who wants to challenge their permit. Neither “We don’t care about readiness” or “we don’t know how to judge whether we’re ready” is terrible comforting for a company asking to carry out cutting edge drilling projects in environmentally sensitive areas.
You’re absolutely right. Their statements last spring and summer were all over-the-top in their expressions of how “READY” they were. I love Sen. Murkowski’s statement regarding the 2013 season being pulled:
— sounds easy enough, eh?