19.02.10 Shell faces legal challenge to drilling in the Arctic
A legal challenge could halt Shell’s exploration of an ecologically sensitive Arctic region containing an estimated 30% of the planet's undiscovered natural gas reserves.
This month, an alliance of conservation and Alaskan indigenous groups filed the claim which could prevent Royal Dutch Shell drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean's Chukchi Sea, less than 100km off Alaska’s northwest coast. Two years ago, Shell paid $2.1bn (£1.3bn) to the US government for the rights to explore and drill for fossil fuels in the region. If Shell continues with its plans it could find 15bn barrels of recoverable oil and 76tn cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, according to the interior department.
The petition, to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, argues that the gain in resources would come at a high environmental cost. Specifically, it challenges the decision by the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) to approve Shell’s plans on the grounds that it was taken after only an "abbreviated and internal review”.
The proposed drilling area is home to endangered bowhead whales, threatened polar bears and a large, diverse population of fish. Oil spills and other pollution could adversely affect the ecosystems of which the animals are a part, and which are as yet poorly understood. The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world and environmental groups also worry that drilling could further increase the rate of warming.
“We all deserve clean air and clean water,” said Michael LeVine, Pacific Senior Counsel for Oceana, a member of the petitioning coalition. “Shell, like anyone else, must comply with the law, and it is the government’s responsibility to enforce the laws that protect our air, water and ocean resources.”
In response, Shell, which is one of a handful of companies granted access to the Arctic for drilling, has defended the necessity of its proposals and environmental record. A spokesman argued that the natural gas and oil available in the Chuckchi Sea could “play a major role in reducing [US] dependence on foreign sources of energy” and claims that “extensive scientific studies and technological advances demonstrate that we can operate in the Arctic in an environmentally responsible manner.”
Environmentalists point to the harmful effects of current drilling in nearby regions as evidence against Shell’s proposals. Pamela Miller, Alaska programme director for the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, says that "Chronic spills are a fact of life from oil and gas operations on Alaska's North Slope, where over 6,000 spills have occurred since 1996, and more than 400 of these took place at offshore oil fields. In the icy conditions of the Arctic Ocean, there is no way to effectively clean up spilled oil."
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