because it's not going to get better any time soon.
Shell seeks to drill in Arctic seas this summer
• Shell ignores calls for moratorium on drilling
• Company says world needs 27bn barrel resource
Tim Webb guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 18 May 2010 19.13 BST
Shell yesterday pushed ahead with
plans to drill in the Arctic Sea this summer, defying calls for a moratorium on offshore exploration in the pristine wilderness following the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, this month scrapped plans to allow offshore drilling in the state for the first time in more than 40 years and environmentalists have called for a halt in the Arctic after
President Obama opened up the area to drilling for the first time last month.
However, Shell today refiled its drilling programme with the US authorities after being required to review its safety procedures following the Gulf spill and awaits final permits.
The industry will drill the first-ever large wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the Arctic, which are estimated to hold 27bn barrels of oil and gas.
Shell chief executive Peter Voser told shareholders at the company's annual meeting that it would only drill there if it thought it could be done "safely and responsibly".
"The characteristics of the offshore fields are different to those in the Gulf of Mexico – we go less deep so there is less pressure," he said. "The world needs these fossil resources in the longer term." Voser said Shell had spent $2bn (£1.38bn) to secure the permits.
Shell also managed to beat off a sizeable rebellion over its controversial oil sands operations in Canada. Nevertheless, one in 10 shareholders either voted for or abstained on a resolution calling for Shell to carry out a full public audit of the environmental and financial impact of the operations.
The Shell board, which was criticised for placing the resolution at the end of the six-hour meeting's agenda, had urged shareholders to vote against it.
Oil sands projects result in three times as many carbon emissions as conventional oil production and also require vast amounts of water to process. They are also very expensive, requiring oil prices of at least $70 a barrel to be economic.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/may/18/shell-arctic-drilling-opposition