US Interior Misses Alaska Date

摘要

Oil firms holding federal leases in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas continue facing uncertainty due to legal disputes and regulatory delays from the Obama Administration. The US Interior Department last week missed a deadline for completing an environmental sensitivity analysis required for producers to proceed with exploration within their tracts. Furthermore, a legal challenge has been filed in US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in dispute of RoyalDutchShell's plans to drill exploratory wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Shell - which owns the largest chunk of leases off Alaska's northern coast - had already begun collecting initial seismic data for its leases.