Shell is on the brink of Arctic exploration after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) approval of the US supermajor’s oil spill response plan (OSRP) on 11 June. The Noble Discoverer…
Shell's acquisition of BG Group has cleared another major hurdle - unconditional merger clearance from the Brazilian competition authority (CADE). The clearance follows CADE’s initial approval of the combination on 8 July 2015, and…
Royal Dutch Shell made the final investment decision (FID) to advance the Appomattox deepwater development in the Norphlet formation in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The project includes the construction and installation of Shell’s eighth and largest floating platform in the GOM…
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) inspected Shell’s drilling rigs for its US$1 billion Arctic drilling program, the Noble Discoverer, Polar Pioneer and the Fennica icebreaker vessel in Alaska. Pre…
Oil major Shell today said the oil price downturn could last for several years, as it revealed 6500 expected staff and contractor reductions in 2015, as well as further capital and operational spending cuts. “Operating costs are expected to fall by over $4 billion…
The US$70 billion Shell and BG Group merger cleared Brazilian regulatory approval, bringing it a step closer to its set completion date of early next year, according to a Reuters report. Brazil's Libra field activity…
The Fennica icebreaker vessel that Shell planned to use as part of its Chukchi Sea drilling operations had to return to Dutch Harbor in Alaska to undergo repairs after its hull was breeched, Finland-based Arctia Offshore reported today (7 July)…
Thirteen activists in kayaks intercepted Shell's drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, in Seattle's Puget Sound as the rig prepared to depart for the Arctic as part of Shell's US$1 billion Arctic exploration and drilling program. Kayaktivists…
A total of 12 groups are challenging the US Department of Interior’s (DOI) decision to reaffirm the 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale that will allow oil and gas drilling in a nearly 30 million acre area of the Chukchi Sea outer continental shelf (OCS)…
Shell has cleared its first hurdle in order to progress its takeover of BG Group, the supermajor announced on 16 June. Shell received an early termination of the US antitrust waiting period from the US Federal Trade Commission. The company…
The US Coast Guard (USCG) reported that the Noble Discoverer drillship has left the Port of Everett, Washington, in the early morning hours of 30 June, and is now Arctic-bound. Thus bringing Shell closer to its Chukchi Sea drilling season…
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) granted conditional approval of Shell’s multi-year exploration plan for the Chukchi Sea today (11 May). The approval comes after what the agency described as a “comprehensive review.” Last month…
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is naming Shell as being ultimately responsible for the grounding of the Kulluk ice-class mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) in 2012 offshore Alaska, due to the company’s inadequate assessment of the risk for the towing…
Shell released this video outlining its safety efforts for Arctic exploration. The company received conditional approval for its exploration plan in the Chukchi Sea on 11 May 2015. Shell is planning to spend US$1 billion to explore the Arctic…
Shell’s Executive Vice President, Arctic, Ann Pickard discussed the supermajor’s investment and current challenges facing its Arctic exploration program at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston on 5 May 2015. In the summer of 2015…