Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) remains confident it will be able to start exploring for oil in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska this summer, the company's Executive Vice President for Exploration David Lawrence said Wednesday.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) remains confident it will be able to start
exploring for oil in the
Arctic Ocean
off
the coast of
Alaska
this
summer, the company's Executive Vice President for Exploration David Lawrence
said Wednesday.
"As long we continue to meet critical milestones we will drill thise
summer,"
Lawrence
told
Dow Jones Newswires in an interview in the sidelines of IHS CERA conference in
Houston
.
Shell has been seeking permits to drill in the Beaufort and
Chukchi
Seas
off
the north coast of
Alaska
for
several years and has spent more than $4 billion to prepare for exploratory
drilling. The company has already obtained several key approvals but it still
needs to cross several more regulatory barriers before it will be permitted to
begin drilling in July. It also faces opposition from several environmental
groups.
Shell will continue pursuing exploratory drilling in
Alaska
because it's one of the most promising areas in the company's portfolio,
Lawrence
said.
"When you look at offshore
Alaska
you
are looking at 25 billion barrels of oil 120 trillion cubic feet of gas, so
it's a major resource that can compete in any arena we look at globally,"
Lawrence
said.
"It's the size of the prize."
Drilling in the Alaskan Arctic "is relatively easy" because it's done
in relatively shallow waters and under relative low pressure and Shell already
knows a lot about the region's geology,
Lawrence
said.
"We have a resource that is able of transforming the energy picture in the
Americas
."
Additionally, if oil is produced from the
Arctic Ocean
,
"it will be critical inflow to keep the Trans Alaska pipeline
running,"
Lawrence
said.
"That is a vital link in our
U.S.
energy security system."
Shell is has spent years "assuring itself" that it has the best
drilling plan in place for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, Lawrence said. "We
wouldn't be there if we don't think we can do it safely."
As part of Shell's interest in the
Arctic
, the
company is also open to explore for opportunities offshore
Russia
. "There
are opportunities in the Russian Arctic, and those could be of interest [for
us],"
Lawrence
said.
Separately, Shell's interest in buying Cove Energy PLC (COV.LN), the junior
partner in a potentially huge natural gas field off the coast of
Mozambique
,
reflects the company's beliefs that area seems to be very promising and it
could become a place where Shell can apply its extensive experience developing
liquefied-natural-gas, or LNG, projects,
Lawrence
said.
The executive declined to comment on the negotiations or on other acquisitions
opportunities in
East Africa
.
Cove Energy was widely expected to accept Shell's $1.6 billion offer before
Thailand
's PTT
Exploration & Production PCL (PTTEP.TH) emerged as a surprise rival bidder
in late February. Dow Jones Newswires also recently reported
India
's Oil
and Natural Gas Corp. (500312.BY) and Gail (
India
) Ltd.
(532155.BY) were mulling a rival bid for the Mozambique-focused natural gas
explorer.
Lawrence
said Shell plans to return to
Libya
when
security "conditions are right."
Lawrence
said.
Shell closed its oil-exploration operations in
Libya
following the unseating of leader Muammar Qaddafi early last year.
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