Shell: Port lease is valid, so drill rigs coming to Seattle despite pleas for delay, protests
Source: Associated Press
Royal Dutch Shell is forging ahead with plans to park two Arctic oil drilling rigs in Seattle, despite the city saying it could issue fines in the case and port commissioners asking Shell to wait.
Shell's plan to move the two rigs to Seattle in coming days sets up a showdown between environmentalists and oil exploration advocates and touches off a wider debate about climate change and whether the nation should tap oil and gas reserves in the icy, remote Arctic Ocean off Alaska's coast.
A Shell spokesman said Tuesday it has a valid lease to use about 50 acres of terminal space on Seattle's waterfront and a tight timeline to prepare its fleet for exploratory oil drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska, so it is sticking to plans to park its drilling fleet on Seattle's waterfront.
"Should Shell bring the rigs to Terminal 5 before the appropriate permits are in place, Seattle's Department of Planning and Development will evaluate the situation and could issue a notice of violation," said Jason Kelly, a spokesman for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in an email Wednesday.
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Read more: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/shell-says-it-has-valid-lease-will-move-drill-rigs-to-seattle-despite-delay-request-303564191.html
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Photo with the article:
Shirley Morrison, center, and other members of the Seattle Raging Grannies sing a song opposing Shell Oil Company during a meeting in Seattle of the Port of Seattle Commission to address the status of a Port lease with Foss Maritime, Tuesday, May 12, 2015, in Seattle. The lease would allow the Shell Oil Company to base equipment in Seattle that is used to drill for oil off the coast of Alaska. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
