Thursday, August 30, 2012

Shell gets OK to start preliminary drilling in Alaska's Chukchi Sea

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday made a surprise announcement that the government will allow Shell Oil Co. to begin well work in the Chukchi Sea this year even before its oil spill containment barge is ready. Salazar told reporters in a news briefing that the newly approved work will involve drilling 1,400 feet or more into the sea floor but that the hole will not reach any oil-bearing zones. So the chance of a spill is virtually nonexistent at this stage, he said. Environmental groups immediately criticized the decision. Alaska Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski praised it. Regulators will still hold Shell's "feet to the fire," Salazar said. Inspectors will be on Shell's rig 24 hours a day as the work is being done, he said. Shell will have to operate under the "closest oversight and most rigorous safety standards ever implemented in the United States," Salazar said...more

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