BSEE gives Shell final nod to drill for oil in Arctic Event

Die Regierung von US-Präsident Obama erteilte dem britisch-niederländischen Konzern Royal Dutch Shell plc die Genhemigung in der Tschuktschensee in Nordwest-Alaska (USA) nach fossillen Brenstoffen zu bohren. Das teilte das Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement am 18. August 2015 mit. Das Bohrgebiet liegt 113 Kilometer von dem Dorf Wainwright an der Nordwestküste entfernt. Shell hatte zuvor bereits die Erlaubnis bekommen, in höher liegenden Schichten des „Burger J“ genannten Feldes zu bohren. Für eine abschließende Zustimmung auch für tiefere Ebenen musste der Konzern aber noch für zusätzliche Sicherheitsvorkehrungen sorgen.

On 18 August 2015, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Brian Salerno announced that Royal Dutch Shell plc has received approval of one Application for Permit to Modify (APM) to conduct exploratory drilling activities into potential oil-bearing zones offshore Alaska at one of the wells at the Burger Prospect, Burger J. The company remains limited to the top section of the Burger V well. Shell submitted an APM on August 6 to modify the Burger J Application for Permit to Drill (APD), which previously restricted Shell from drilling into oil-bearing zones since a capping stack was not on hand and deployable within 24 hours, as required by BSEE. A capping stack is a critical piece of emergency response equipment designed to shut in a well in the unlikely event of a loss of well control. The capping stack, staged on the vessel M/V Fennica, is now in the region and capable of being deployed within 24 hours.