Environment & Energy

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts) Sat May 23, 2015, 08:33 AM May 2015

Shell handpicked auditor to sign off on government's Arctic drilling renewal

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/22/shell-arctic-drilling-transparency

Results of audit remain under wraps as activists warn lack of transparency prevents informed public response and could have dire consequences

Shell handpicked auditor to sign off on government's Arctic drilling renewal
Rose Hackman in New York
Friday 22 May 2015 12.18 EDT

The Obama administration’s process for giving Shell the go-ahead for restarting its drilling in the Arctic lacked transparency and prevented an informed public response, environmental groups have warned.

The results of a third-party audit required by the US government before Royal Dutch Shell be allowed back into the US Arctic remain under wraps, and the third-party auditor – supposedly taken on to provide better oversight – was selected and paid for by Shell, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement confirmed.

The consequences of such a lack of transparency and opportunity for public scrutiny are worrying, the environmental group Greenpeace says.

Shell had to exit the US Arctic waters in 2012 after the oil giant’s equipment failed an environment protection test. Its activities in the area that year were plagued by embarrassing mishaps, revealing it to be ill-equipped and ill-prepared to operate in the region’s treacherous waters and weather conditions. In one case, one of its giant oil rigs mistakenly ran ashore after breaking off from towing ships in rough sea conditions.