Re: Shell and the Arctic

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Maybe we can start a new hash tag leaveitunderthesea. On Monday, September 28, 2015, Milia Fisher <[email protected]> wrote: > Great will schedule now. > > On Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 1:07 PM, John Podesta <[email protected] > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','[email protected]');>> wrote: > >> Ok >> >> >> On Monday, September 28, 2015, Milia Fisher <[email protected] >> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','[email protected]');>> wrote: >> >>> .@Shell's move to halt offshore oil exploration is great news for the >>> climate, the Arctic oceans & the fragile wildlife that calls them home >>> (140) >>> >>> I think it's probably not necessary to include a link in the tweet, >>> because the news is big, but here's the story: >>> >>> Royal Dutch Shell suspends Arctic drilling indefinitelyBy Juliet >>> Eilperin <http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/juliet-eilperin> and Steven >>> Mufson <http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/steven-mufson> September >>> 28 at 11:10 AM >>> >>> Demonstrators protest against Royal Dutch Shell near the Polar Pioneer >>> oil drilling rig on May 16, 2015, in Seattle. (David Ryder/Getty Images) >>> >>> Royal Dutch Shell announced early Monday morning it will suspend Arctic >>> drilling >>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pondering-impact-of-drilling-off-remote-northwest-alaska/2011/07/21/gIQAvup6JJ_story.html> indefinitely, >>> after finding insufficient oil and gas in one of its exploratory wells to >>> justify costly development. >>> >>> The move puts the end — for now — on the contentious debate over whether >>> oil and gas exploration should take place in the environmentally sensitive >>> area off Alaska’s coast. President Obama has come under intense fire for >>> allowing drilling to proceed, and environmentalists cheered >>> Shell’s announcement. >>> >>> It also highlights the tremendous costs and risks of drilling in the >>> Arctic frontier, which is thought to have vast oil reserves but where >>> little exploration has taken place so far. >>> >>> In a statement at 1 a.m. Eastern time, Shell said that while it had >>> successfully drilled its Burger J exploration well in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea >>> this summer to a total depth of 6,800 feet, the indications of oil and gas >>> “are not sufficient to warrant further exploration in the Burger prospect.” >>> The well lies roughly 150 miles from Barrow, Alaska. >>> >>> “The Shell Alaska team has operated safely and exceptionally well in >>> every aspect of this year’s exploration program,” said Shell Oil Co.’s >>> president Marvin Odum. “Shell continues to see important exploration >>> potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of >>> strategic importance to Alaska and the U.S. However, this is a clearly >>> disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.” >>> >>> The firm said it would seal and abandon the well in accordance with U.S. >>> regulations and “will now cease further exploration activity in offshore >>> Alaska for the foreseeable future.” >>> >>> “This decision reflects both the Burger J well result, the high costs >>> associated with the project, and the challenging and unpredictable federal >>> regulatory environment in offshore Alaska,” the statement added. >>> >>> Interior Department spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw said Monday the >>> department “has focused on making sure that Shell’s exploration activities >>> are performed as safely as possible” and would continue to monitor its >>> activities as it scaled back its operations “to ensure that de-mobilization >>> activities are done safely and responsibly.” >>> >>> The company said it would take a large financial charge as a result of >>> the announcement. The balance sheet value of Shell’s Alaska position is >>> approximately $3.0 billion, with approximately a further $1.1 billion of >>> future contractual commitments for equipment the company expected to use in >>> 2016 and 2017, the company said. It will try to redeploy some of those >>> assets, but some write offs will be required. >>> >>> Shell has spent more than $7 billion on oil exploration in the Alaskan >>> Arctic, including more than $2 billion in what was a record Interior >>> Department lease sale in 2008 and $1.4 billion this year. But its efforts >>> to find a vast amount of oil have been mired in lawsuits and a regulatory >>> process complicated by a series of mishaps — such as hitting uncharted >>> shoals — that have damaged vessels required for the drilling program. The >>> BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico also resulted in a suspension of all >>> offshore drilling for a period and made regulators more sensitive to spill >>> risks. >>> >>> Lois Epstein, a licensed engineer and Arctic program director for the >>> Wilderness Society, said the project made no sense given the area’s >>> wildlife, lack of an oil spill response infrastructure and the threat >>> fossil fuel burning poses to the climate. >>> >>> “Shell’s announcement is a very good news for the marine environment, >>> sensitive coastal lands and the Arctic communities that would be devastated >>> by a major oil spill,” Epstein said in a statement. “Hopefully, this means >>> that we are done with oil companies gambling with the Arctic Ocean, and we >>> can celebrate the news that the Arctic Ocean will be safe for the >>> foreseeable future.” >>> >>> For the oil industry, however, the well results were bad news. >>> >>> “That was a huge disappointment not only for Shell but also for the >>> industry,” said Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. “This has >>> been a saga. Bad timing, bad planning, bad circumstances. It was not meant >>> to be. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.” >>> >>> He said that though the company only completed one well, he said that it >>> was the best prospect Shell had. “If you wanted to make a bet on one horse, >>> this was the horse in for the money,” he said. “This was the best >>> candidate.” In the 1990s, five wells were drilled in the area and >>> abandoned after yielding natural gas, but by early 2008 oil prices had >>> soared and Shell had taken another look at the seismic data. >>> >>> The announcement that Shell would halt drilling came less than a month >>> after President Obama’s historic trip to the Alaskan Arctic to highlight >>> climate change and Arctic policy. Environmental activists had both >>> celebrated the trip and yet also suggested a contradiction between the >>> president’s climate concern on the one hand, and his administration’s >>> allowing Shell’s drilling plans to go forward. >>> >>> “As President Obama saw first-hand, there are many challenges in the >>> Arctic region, and we can use this opportunity to address changing climate >>> and the need to protect and conserve important ocean resources,” said Susan >>> Murray, a deputy vice president at Oceana, in a statement. >>> “Shell’s announcement today allows the government to take a step back to >>> apply careful planning, precaution, and science to forge a sustainable >>> future for the Arctic.” >>> >>> “Today’s announcement from Shell that it will not drill for oil in the >>> Arctic Ocean for the foreseeable future underscores the reality that >>> drilling in this harsh and sensitive Alaskan environment is not worth the >>> risk,” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement Monday. >>> >>> But Rex A. Rock, Sr., president of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation >>> (ASRC), a consortium of Alaska Native companies that recently invested in >>> Shell’s oil prospects, said in a statement that he was “deeply >>> disappointed” with the news from Shell. The leaders of ASRC said they had >>> invested in Shell’s venture because of concerns that climate change would >>> make it more difficult to sustain their traditional whaling and fishing >>> based economy. >>> >>> “We are looking for solutions on how we continue to sustain our local >>> economies to support our communities,” Rock said. “Absent any responsible >>> resource development onshore and offshore, we are facing a fiscal crisis >>> beyond measure.” >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 12:40 PM, John Podesta <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> I missed the Shell news, but worth finding and tweeting >>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>>> From: "David Hayes" <[email protected]> >>>> Date: Sep 28, 2015 11:10 AM >>>> Subject: Shell and the Arctic >>>> To: "Peter Ogden" <[email protected]>, "Trevor Houser" < >>>> [email protected]>, "Ben Kobren" <[email protected]>, "Jake >>>> Sullivan" <[email protected]>, "John Podesta" < >>>> [email protected]> >>>> Cc: >>>> >>>> Shell's dry hole in the Chukchi obviously is huge and welcome news. >>>> >>>> Perhaps the best part of this is that the Bush-era leases in the >>>> Chukchi and Beaufort Seas that were purchased for $2+ billion in 2006 are >>>> now likely to expire before any new finds are confirmed. As a result, a >>>> future Administration should avoid the need to spend billions to buy out >>>> leasholders' interests in order to prevent future Arctic offshore drilling. >>>> >>>> (You may recall that in the Clinton Administration, there was a buy-out >>>> of existing leases in Bristol Bay; that was the only way to ensure that >>>> those leases would not be developed.) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> *David J. Hayes* >>>> >>>> *Stanford Law School* >>>> Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Law >>>> >>>> Crown Quadrangle >>>> >>>> 559 Nathan Abbott Way >>>> >>>> Stanford, CA 94305-8610 >>>> >>>> *[email protected]* >>>> >>>> twitter: @djhayes01 >>>> >>>> office: 650-723-7778 >>>> >>>> cell: 202-258-3909 >>>> >>>> personal email: [email protected] >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Milia Fisher >>> Special Assistant to the Chair >>> Hillary for America >>> [email protected] >>> c: 858.395.1741 >>> >> > > > -- > Milia Fisher > Special Assistant to the Chair > Hillary for America > [email protected] > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','[email protected]');> > c: 858.395.1741 >