Shell Abandons Plan for Drilling in Arctic Seas

Yesterday, the CEO of Shell Oil announced sharply lower earnings and canceled plans to try to drill in Arctic seas off the coast of Alaska.  While couched in terms of a temporary decision applying only to this summer’s drilling season, the actual press announcement by the company had the feel of a more dramatic change … Read more

Kicking Off 2014 With a Bang

For more than seven years, Pacific Environment and allies have single-handedly been stopping Shell Oil from drilling in fragile Arctic seas. Now, Shell is busy preparing to return to the Arctic in time to drill during the summer season. But this week a federal court threw a wrench into the oil giant’s plans when it … Read more

No Rest for Shell Oil and President Obama

I was hopeful that some real progress would be made when the Department of the Interior suspended Shell’s drilling program in the Arctic because of the company’s chain of embarrassing failures and near-disasters in 2012. But last week, the government’s 60-day investigation of Shell’s Arctic drilling program mainly confirmed what we already knew: Shell is … Read more

Arctic Beats Back Shell Oil

When Shell announced yesterday that it was giving up on its plans to drill for oil in Alaska’s Arctic this year, I was elated—but not exactly surprised. A chain of embarrassing accidents in 2012 clearly demonstrated Shell’s inability to drill safely in the Arctic. These fiascoes prompted a review of Shell’s drilling program by the … Read more

The Curse of Crude

At least since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 it’s been a common refrain throughout the world that countries must crank up resource extraction projects to stimulate economic development. It’s an easy argument – more resources equal more money which creates better economic conditions – and it’s also wrong. A New York Times … Read more

Shell’s Failed Arctic Experiment

Shell ended its 2012 Arctic drilling season with a bang. On New Year’s Eve, one of its drill rigs—the Kulluk— ran aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska, in a severe winter storm while carrying 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of other petroleum products. Tow vessels were moving the Kulluk, which has no propulsion … Read more

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Victory in the Arctic!

Today is a good day: Shell announced that it is cancelling its 2012 Arctic drilling program!  From asking to exceed air pollution limits to a damaged oil spill containment dome, Shell showed that it is not prepared to drill in the Arctic safely. Let’s savor the moment. This is a huge day for millions of … Read more