A federal judge in Anchorage clarified his order enjoining Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. from exploring its Chukchi Sea leases by allowing permitted seismic surveying to start, Alaska state officials said.
US District Judge Ralph Beistline ruled on July 21 that the US Minerals Management Service did not adequately analyze environmental impacts when it awarded the offshore leases in Alaska to the Royal Dutch/Shell subsidiary in February 2008. He ordered the US Department of the Interior agency, which was renamed the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, to study other potential impacts from exploration and production.
Shell sought reconsideration or clarification of the injunction on July 27, arguing that it was overly broad because it barred activities such as seismic testing, which do not involve drilling. The state of Alaska, which intervened in the case, filed a brief supporting Shell's motion on July 30. The Obama administration also intervened, saying another producer, Statoil USA Inc., owned 16 Chukchi Sea leases about 100 miles offshore where it could shoot seismic.
Beistline agreed and issued a clarification on Aug. 2 that his ruling did not cover Shell or any other company shooting seismic if they had the necessary government permits. The ruling also cleared the way for Shell to conduct shallow hazard and ice gauge surveys, a spokesman in its Anchorage office said on Aug. 9.
"While we are disappointed not to be drilling this year, the marine surveys we have planned for the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas will move us closer to potential development and, hopefully, a future production scenario," he said in an email.
A Statoil ASA spokesman in Houston on Aug. 9 told OGJ, "We obviously are pleased with this decision, which cleared the way for us to do our seismic work."
He said a vessel was on its way. "We expect to get equipment in the water in the next 10-14 days and gather about 920 square miles of 3-D data by the end of October."
Shell and the state of Alaska each had moved to have Beistline's order lifted. The judge has not ruled yet on those motions.
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