Shell Halts Arctic Drilling Right After It Began

ORIGINAL: NYTimes Green Blog

By JOHN M. BRODER

WASHINGTON — A day after it began drilling its first well in the Arctic Ocean, Shell has been forced to temporarily abandon the work because of sea ice moving into the area.

The delay was the latest setback for Shell, which has invested six years and more than $4 billion

Has invested six years and more than $4 billion to win the right to drill for oil and natural gas in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the North Slope of Alaska.

The company has been repeatedly stymied by equipment problems, regulatory hurdles, persistent sea ice and legal challenges from Alaska Natives and environmental groups. Shell had hoped to complete as many as four wells in the Arctic this summer. It now expects to begin one or two wells and finish next year.

Early Sunday, Shell’s Noble Discoverer drill ship sank a bit into the Burger Prospect, about 70 miles off the Alaska coast, the start of a 1,400-foot pilot hole that will form the basis for a mile-deep exploration well.

But late Monday, Shell announced it was pulling the floating drill rig’s multiple anchors and moving it off the well because of encroaching sea ice. The company said it had based its decision on satellite images, radar and on-site reconnaissance.

“We began monitoring this ice when it was more than 100 miles away,” Shell said. “The wind began to shift, and we made the call to disconnect from the well. Part of working in ice is having the ability to temporarily relocate.”

Shell said it expected to move the rig back over the well once the ice passed.

The company is still awaiting federal certification of its spill containment vessel before its wells can penetrate oil-bearing formations. The spill response barge is undergoing trials and inspections in Bellingham, Wash., and could win Coast Guard certification this week.

Even if regulators give the ship final approval, it will take two weeks to sail to the well site, leaving little time to finish the well.

Under terms of its drilling permit, Shell must cease drilling in the Chukchi Sea by Sept. 24 to allow time to drill a relief well if needed before ice sets in for the winter. Shell has asked for an extension because its projections show a later ice season this year.