14 DAY TRIAL // This past Thursday, oil and gas company Shell went public with the news that it was getting ready to once again attempt drilling for oil in the Arctic.
Speaking to members of the press, the company's Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, detailed that, although no official decisions have yet been taken, it is likely that Shell will settle for carrying out exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea alone.
Thus, the company appears to have, at least for the time being, lost interest in carrying out similar activities in the Beaufort Sea.
“We have not yet confirmed if we drill in 2014, but we do expect to file an exploration plan shortly, maybe in the next couple of weeks. It’s likely to be focused on the Chukchi,” Simon Henry reportedly said during a media teleconference, as cited by Alaska Dispatch.
“The problem with the Beaufort is it’s too shallow to get normal rigs in. So our focus is very much on the Chukchi, which is by far the biggest prize. That’s the multibillion-barrel prize,” he went on to explain in a very matter-of-fact way bound to upset environmentalists.
Interestingly enough, Shell appears dead set on drilling for oil in the Arctic despite the fact that their previous attempts to exploit these regions for profit did not exactly go according to plan.
More precisely, it was earlier this year, in February, when the company announced that it would suspend the drilling activities scheduled for 2013 on account that it needed better time to prepare both its employees and its equipment for the harsh environmental conditions in the Arctic.
What's more, the company scored several embarrassing failures to drill in the Arctic the year before, to which US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar only had one thing to say: “Shell screwed up in 2012.”
According to Think Progress, Shell's attempts to exploit the Arctic for oil have thus far cost the company about $5 billion (€3.69 billion), and yielded little – if any – results. Still, since the company views these waters as a “ multibillion-barrel prize,” it's no wonder that it is having a difficult time giving up on its plans.