Point Hope appeals Shell Chukchi drilling

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

In a move that has become de rigueur in response to any government agency decision supporting Shell’s much-frustrated plans to drill in the Alaska Arctic outer continental shelf, the Native Village of Point Hope and eight environmental organizations filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Jan. 19, appealing the U.S. Minerals Management Service approval of Shell’s 2010 exploration plan for the Chukchi Sea. Shell plans to drill up to three wells in the Chukchi during the 2010 open water season.

The MMS analysis of the environmental impacts of Shell’s planned activities was “sorely lacking,” said Earthjustice, a law firm that represents environmental groups.

“The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service approved drilling in the Chukchi Sea after doing only an abbreviated and internal review of its potential harms and despite significant concerns surrounding Shell’s oil leases,” Earthjustice said. “… Under Shell’s plan, a huge 514-foot-long drill ship and an armada of support vessels and aircraft would patrol the waters of the icy Arctic Ocean, generating industrial noise in the ocean, emitting tons of air pollutants, including heat-trapping gases, and thousands of barrels of water pollutants. The Chukchi Sea is habitat for endangered bowhead whales, threatened polar bears, walrus and a host of other wildlife — many of which are vital to sustaining the thousands-year old subsistence way of life of Alaska Native coastal communities.”

Shell defended the MMS decision.

“It’s our belief the MMS was thorough in its technical and environmental evaluation of our 2010 Chukchi exploration plan and that Shell has demonstrated its ability to operate in the Arctic in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. “A tremendous amount of work went into writing and evaluating this permit and we fully expect the MMS to be successful in defending its approval.”

Smith said that Shell must drill in its Chukchi Sea leases to evaluate the potentially prolific hydrocarbon resources of the Chukchi Sea, resources that could play a major role in reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, provide thousands of jobs and help extend the life of the trans-Alaska pipeline.

“Shell has gone to great lengths to minimize the impact of both its Chukchi and Beaufort drilling programs, including a voluntary shutdown during the fall subsistence whaling harvest in the Beaufort Sea, installing best available discharge technology, and aspirations for a reduced number of wells,” Smith said. “These steps were taken after considering direct feedback from North Slope stakeholders who asked that Shell take a measured approach to offshore exploration.”

MMS declined to comment on the lawsuit until it sees the filings in the case.