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Shell gets OK to begin prep work at 2nd drill site off Alaska coast when whaling season ends

Published on September 21, 2012; Published on September 21, 2012

Topics :: Royal Dutch Shell PLC , Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement , ANCHORAGE, Alaska , Beaufort Sea , Chukchi Sea

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Federal officials have given Royal Dutch Shell PLC approval for limited site work in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast.

The decision Thursday was widely expected. A Shell drill ship, the Kulluk, is positioned in the Beaufort waiting for the whaling season to end.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement already gave Shell approval for similar work in the Chukchi Sea.

The company can't drill into petroleum zones until its spill response barge is in place. A containment dome on the barge was damaged in tests last weekend.

Shell says it will drill pilot holes and perform other well preparation work this year.

The company hopes to tap into an estimated 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in U.S. Arctic waters.

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