US Democrat Hillary Clinton says Arctic drilling ‘not worth the risk’

On Monday the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement gave final approval to Shell Oil to drill into oil-bearing rocks in the Chukchi Sea about 70 miiles northwest of the village of Wainwright, Alaska.

A spokesperson for Shell said the prospect could be one of the more lucrative basins in North America.

“Not allowing Arctic Ocean oil drilling would have been the right technical decision”, Lois Epstein, Arctic programme director for The Wilderness Society, said in a statement.

“We remain committed to operating in a safe, environmentally-responsible manner and look forward to evaluating what could potentially become a national energy resource base”, a company spokesman said.

However, Shell still says it is “possible” that it will complete a well this summer, and may be able to start work on a second.

Shell’s Megan Baldino declined to provide details on the progress of drilling since then, saying only, “we continue to make progress on the well”.

Environmentalists argue vehemently that the oil should be left well alone, as the risks of damaging this pristine environment are too great.

Shell obtained the leases in the Chukchi during the administration of former president George W Bush. Shell is not releasing a timetable for its drilling program.

Environmental advocates have increasingly voiced frustration with Obama’s self-described “all-of-the-above energy strategy”. If Shell finds oil in the region, it will have to apply for more permits, which will take nearly a decade.

Greenpeace has launched a boycotting action against Shell in response to the oil company receiving the final go-ahead from the American government for drilling in Alaska, AD reports. Bad weather and mechanical failures that botched a drilling attempt in 2012 resulted in tighter restrictions. The company is not allowed to drill at both sites simultaneously under rules laid out by the BSEE. Shell also owns leases in the Beaufort Sea, east of the Chukchi, though it doesn’t have immediate plans to drill there.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that U.S. Arctic waters maintain 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, and Shell is keen to discover in a basin that firm officers say could possibly be a “recreation changer” for home manufacturing.