An Interior Department assessment of the 2012 offshore
drilling program in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas is underway, in the wake of
challenges encountered by Shell during the past season, and the state of Alaska
wants a seat on the panel.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell made the request this past week in
a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Salazar said earlier this month that the review, which is expected
to be completed with 60 days, would pay special attention to challenges Shell
encountered in connection with certification of its containment vessel, the Arctic
Challenger; the deployment of its containment dome, and operational
issues associated with the drill rigs Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk.
Salazar said the review is consistent with the Obama Administration’s
commitment to safe and responsible exploration for energy resources in the
Arctic and will help inform future permitting processes in the region. He said
the unique challenges posed by the Arctic environment demand a very high level
of scrutiny.
An evaluation of the Kulluk at Kodiak Island is
continuing. The Kulluk was en route from Dutch Harbor to Seattle in stormy
weather when it grounded, and was later refloated, off a remote island near
Kodiak Island.
The review of Shell’s Arctic activities will be led by
Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management director Tomy Beaudreau, who is
serving as acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management. The
review will look at Shell’s safety management systems, its oversight of
contracted services, and its ability to meet the strict standards in place for
Arctic development.
Parnell said hundreds of exploration and development wells
have already been safely and responsibly drilled in state and federal waters
off the coast of Alaska, and that these efforts have benefitted from half a
century of experience in the Arctic.
The environmental organization Oceana has also weighed in on
the Interior Department’s assessment, noting that significant problems during
Shell’s drilling events in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas came to light in
notices of violation published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Oceana spokesman Dustin Cranor notes that a number of these activities were
given authorization to proceed by the Interior Department and he hopes the 60-day
review will address agency oversight. A summary of Oceana’s documentation on
the matter is at http://oceana.org/en/our-work/climate-energy/offshore-drilling/learn-act/facts-about-shell-oils-problems-in-the-arctic
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