“With the warming temperatures in the Arctic, the frequency of ice breaking off, that speeds up and so you perhaps have more icebergs in the way of operations," said Lahn. "The other problem is increasing severity of storms and as the ice retreats from the coastlines, there’s more chance of larger waves leading to coastal erosion and damage to infrastructure.”
Corporate video animations posted on the Internet by Shell illustrate the company’s drilling activities in the Arctic. Shell has abandoned its Arctic exploration until after the coming winter, citing the failure of a key piece of safety equipment.
According to analyst Glada Lahn, safety will be the key to any successful oil exploration in the Arctic.
“It’s been more difficult in the U.S. and Canada. The memories of Deepwater Horizon, and even before that Exxon Valdez, are still fresh in people’s minds, and so there’s been a lot more public scrutiny of the companies’ spill response plans, for instance,” said Lahn.
VOA did approach Shell for an interview but the company said no one was available.
After political problems appeared to have derailed the deal, it appears a joint venture between Rosneft and BP to drill in the Arctic could be back on.
But not all oil giants are joining the rush. The CEO of the French firm Total recently said “a leak would do too much damage to the image of the company.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25