Shell has submitted an application to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to drill a single well in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska by the summer of 2011.

摘要

A Shell official said the company has developed an “unprecedented spill response” system that would be staged near the drilling operations, which are planned for Camden Bay off the north coast of Alaska. That system includes a second blowout preventer that would be attached to the top of the well, a second drilling rig that could be used to drill a relief well if needed would be staged at a nearby port as well as a domed containment system similar to the one used by BP at the Macondo well. Shell's proposed well would be in 125 feet of water. By statue, the BOEM has 30 days to review the application and report on it -- but the regulations allow the agency to request an extension of its review time if needed. Shell officials said they must have an answer by the first of the year in order to stage their equipment in time to begin drilling next summer.