ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A spokesman for Shell Alaska said the company in the next few weeks will submit an Arctic offshore exploration plan but hasn’t decided whether it will move forward with drilling next year.
Curtis Smith said the company is “putting the building blocks in place” for an upcoming exploration season but hasn’t made a final decision.
He said if Shell drills in 2014, it will be in the Chukchi Sea only, and not the Beaufort Sea.
The plans were made public during Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s third-quarter earnings announcement.
Shell drilled in both the Chukchi and the Beaufort in 2012 but suffered serious setbacks, culminating with the grounding of a drill vessel near Kodiak.
The company subsequently decided it would not drill in 2013.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.