The oil exploration ban off the United States coast has been extended by six months. The measure will remain in force at least until the investigation into the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has been completed. The ban comes as a big setback for Dutch-British oil company Shell.
The company was about to obtain a permit - starting this summer - for test drilling off the coast of Alaska, when the Deepwater Horizon platform blew up and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. The Alaskan oil fields may well hold some of the world’s last unexploited oil reserves.
Controversial
According to Shell there’s no comparison between the activities in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Arctic. In the Gulf, British oil firm BP is drilling at a depth of 1,500 metres. Off the coast of Alaska, it’s no deeper than 45 metres, says a Shell spokesperson. “We don’t have to deal with the same limitations at that depth.” Nevertheless, the company can understand the US decision to put drilling off the coast on hold.
The application was controversial. The Beaufort Sea off Alaska is one of the world’s coldest and remotest regions. Environmental groups and the local Inuit say if anything went wrong it would take too long to bring in equipment and reinforcements. The extreme conditions would hamper efforts to clean up an oil spill in this vulnerable area. Opponents say BP’s fruitless efforts to get the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico under control underline the dangers. Even The New York Times joined in the debate, backing a ban in its editorial.
The US government acknowledged the objections and demanded extra safety measures. Shell says it is working closely with the authorities and actively cooperating to seek a solutions. “We’ve offered to improve risk assessment in advance and set safety standards during drilling even higher. We would also keep ships in reserve.”
Delayed
Mr Obama’s decision to ban all offshore drilling until 2011 is not without financial consequences for Shell, although the company won’t say how much it stands to lose. In any case it won’t have any effect on oil production. “The test drilling is to assess how much oil is present. This is now delayed.” Shell expects that ultimately a solution will be found and the drilling will go ahead.
Shell in Alaska
Shell in Alaska
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We desperately need alternative sources of energy. All that deep sea drilling will cost us dearly and will sooner or later destroy all life on this planet.
The set-back is not for Shell, rather for the thousands and thousands of animals who are perishing. But as usual, the concern is for profits and to hell with everything else. And what about the set-back for hundreds of fishermen who are losing their livelihoods? Is Shell so short on morals and ethics that all it can think about is money? I am boycotting BP and I will also boycott Shell.
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