The Daily Shift’s Shannon McNamee reports on the news that Shell plan to stop their Arctic drilling for 2012…
There were high spirits and satisfaction for environmentalists worldwide, as Shell forced its Arctic oil drilling plans to grind to a halt for 2012.
The company, which has so far spent around €3.5 billion to obtain licences and prepare for exploratory drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, said it is scaling back ambitions until next summer.
To obtain approval to drill, Shell fought a long struggle against environmental groups, who say seeking oil in the icy waters is too dangerous. In a statement on Monday, Greenpeace claimed “vindication” and called Shell’s program a “monumentally reckless gamble”.
An offshore oil drilling rig *Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Greenpeace, the worldwide environmentalist community, has been protesting Shell’s Arctic drilling plans for over six months now, and finally, with over two million members (including Penelope Cruz and Paul McCartney) opposing them, the large oil company has retracted it’s entire drilling scheme. This was due to a fault with a piece of equipment designed to clean up after any potential oil spills.
The global oil company said:
“The time required to repair the dome, along with steps we have taken to protect local whaling operations and to ensure the safety of operations from ice floe movement, have led us to revise our plans for the 2012-2013 exploration program.”
Greenpeace’s protest wasn’t the reason Shell were forced to halt it’s drilling plans, however, their actions have certainly brought worldwide attention to Shell that otherwise might not be there.
