Shell barred from returning to drill for oil in Arctic without overhaul

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Shell barred from returning to drill for oil in Arctic without overhaul

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 March 2013 00.13 GMT

Shell "screwed up" drilling for oil in Arctic waters and will not be allowed back without a comprehensive overhaul of its plans, the Obama administration said on Thursday.

A government review found the oil company was not prepared for the extreme conditions in the Arctic, which resulted in a series of blunders and accidents culminating in the New Year's Eve grounding of its drill rig.

Shell announced a "pause" in Arctic drilling last month. But Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, told a reporters' conference call that the company will not be allowed to return without producing a much more detailed plan, one tailored specifically to the harsh Arctic conditions.

"Shell will not be able to move forward into the Arctic to do any kind of exploration unless they have this integrated management plan put in place," said Salazar, in one of his last acts before standing down as interior secretary. "It's that plain and simple."

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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/15/shell-barred-drill-oil-arctic

[limpyhobbler]

1. We're lucky the accident wasn't a lot worse. Like a big spill or something

like the BP spill in the gulf. The whole idea is madness anyway.