Shell rig woes threaten to ground Alaskan exploration

摘要

Shell’s troubled efforts to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas took a disturbing new turn on 31 December, when its Kulluk drilling rig ran aground on an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Alaska after breaking free from tow ships in turbulent seas and high winds. The rig was being pulled to Seattle, Washington, for off-season maintenance.