Shell Permits Would Help U.S. Keep Pace in Arctic, Salazar Says
This article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. is considering final permits letting Royal Dutch Shell Plc explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean as the nation seeks to keep pace with Russia, Norway and Canada, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
Shell is closer to drilling as many as five wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas this year, after agreeing to build an oil-spill containment system and add precautions to protect native Alaskans and animals such as polar bears and walrus. Federal waters off Alaska’s coast may hold 26.6 billion barrels of oil, according to a 2011 assessment from the Interior Department.