ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Shell Oil says it will decide soon on drilling plans next summer for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.
Shell spent $2 billion two years ago for leases. Environmentalists and North Slope governments successfully sued the past two summers to block drilling plans, and more litigation is likely on the revised plans.
The vice president of Shell Alaska, Peter Slaiby, told The Anchorage Daily News Wednesday that his company listened to critics of its previous drilling plans in the Arctic and spent more than $25 million to tighten the air pollution controls on its drill ship, the Frontier Discovery.
He also says Shell hopes to drill two to three wells next year rather than the dozen-plus wells originally planned.
Shell should drill some Natural Gas wells on the Slope. Create the product and watch the state suddenly 'find' the opportunity to build a pipeline to supply LNG to Alaskans.