*http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11699259&PageNum=0
Royal Dutch/Shell to start development of Arctic Ocean shelf LONDON, July 7 (Itar-Tass) *- The European Union's largest company Royal Dutch/Shell has embarked on the implementation of an ambitious programme aimed at the exploration of oil and gas on the Arctic Ocean shelf. The Times reported on Saturday the drilling will begin as early as next month in the Beaufort Sea off the Alaskan coast. According to The Times, "Shell is preparing its biggest exploration programme in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska for more than a decade, a move that could establish a new frontier for the oil and gas industry." "The Anglo-Dutch energy giant expects to start a controversial three-year programme next month with a small armada of ships drilling a dozen wells in the Beaufort Sea 30 miles off the Alaskan coast," it reports. "Industry experts have claimed that it could spark a rush into one of the world's biggest untapped energy reserves. Authorities believe that the Beaufort Sea contains eight billion barrels of oil and nearly 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Despite fierce opposition from local communities and environmentalists, the US Minerals Management Service gave Shell the green light for the venture in February," the article says. "It is understood that Repsol of Spain, Norsk Hydro of Norway and Conoco-Phillips of the US are ready to follow Shell if the drilling proves successful. BP already operates the North Star field on the coastline of Alaska's North Slope but Shell's exploration activity is 20 to 30 miles closer to the Arctic fringe," according to The Times. The newspaper says Shell made the decision to start the Arctic exploration work based on unique technological experience its specialists gained during work on Russia's Sakhalin Island. In the past decades, Royal Dutch/Shell had already conducted limited geological prospecting in the Arctic. However, the current programme is unprecedented both in scale and targets. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
