Arctic oil prospecting imminent as Shell given go-ahead

Arctic riches beckon. Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell has received renewed permission from the US government to prospect in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

Washington gave Shell a permit in 2012, then called a halt when a rig broke loose, ringing environmental alarms, and concerns are far from being resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Now, more parts of Alaskan waters are close to opening. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas skirt the state’s northern coast, together the entire US Arctic domain.

Ecologist groups condemn the regulatory Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for ignoring its own risk assessment. A few days ago, Greenpeace activists scaled the exploration rig Polar Pioneer in the Pacific Ocean as it was being towed towards Seattle, for leasing to Shell as part of its already six billion dollar investment in Alaska.

Greenpeace campaigner Laura Kenyon said: “Despite the fact that the US government itself admits that there is a 75 percent chance of an oil spill should oil production beg