The Seattle Times · Jul 25, 2015
Q&A: A look at Shell Oil and Arctic offshore drilling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shell Oil drill vessels are heading to the Arctic.
But they will not be permitted to drill into petroleum-bearing rock until a key piece of blowout response equipment, a capping stack, is on site.
The capping stack is carried on the icebreaker Fennica, which arrived early Saturday for repairs in Portland, Oregon.
Arctic offshore drilling opponents plan to demonstrate while the Fennica is in port.
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WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Royal Dutch Shell and other companies want to tap into U.S. Arctic offshore reserves that the U.S. Geological Survey estimates at 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.