Shell gets conditional OK to drill offshore Alaska

摘要

Washington-US regulators have granted Shell conditional approval to drill two new wells in the Chukchi Sea offshore Alaska this sum- mer, but the wells cannot extend to oil-bearing zones until critical safety equipment arrives. The approval of the two drilling permits was expected following the administration’s conditional approval in May of Shell’s Chukchi drilling plans. Still, Wednesday’s approval does include some limits on Shell’s initial drilling in the Chukchi. Shell will not be per- mitted to drill into oil-bearing zones since the company does not have a capping stand on hand and deployable within 24 hours, accord- ing to BSEE’s announcement.