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Shell's hopes of drilling in Arctic waters off Alaska this summer face a serious setback after a US federal court ruled that the full range of environmental risks had not been assessed by the government.
The 9th circuit court of appeals ruled in favour of green groups and native Alaskan tribes that want Shell and its partners to call off their exploration programme for fear of an oil spill.
The Anglo-Dutch oil group declined to comment on the implications of the court case and would only say: "We are studying the judgment." But the reversal arrives just as its new chief executive, Ben van Beurden, is reviewing the future of a whole range of the company's high-cost activities after issuing a profit warning last week.
Shell has already spent $5bn unsuccessfully looking for oil in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, most notably in 2012 when it suffered a number of problems culminating in the grounding of its drilling barge, Kulluk. The company said in December it hoped to drill again this summer but was still awaiting the go-ahead from various regulatory authorities.
The Wilderness Society and other groups that challenged the sale of the licences that took place six years ago said the decision of the court was a victory for the Arctic Ocean.
"The government has no business offering oil companies leases in the Chukchi Sea. The area is home to iconic species such as polar bear, bowhead whales and walrus and to a vibrant indigenous subsistence culture. Drilling for oil puts at risk the region's wildlife and people, and it takes us off the path toward a clean energy future," they argued.
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, added: "The court decision means the USA interior department has to go back to the drawing board before it can reissue any new licence to Shell. This is a massive blow to Shell's Arctic ambitions. Shell had already lost the case for Arctic drilling in the court of public opinion – today they have lost the case in a court of law as well."
Shell warned that last week it expected fourth-quarter financial earnings of $2.2bn, down about 70% from a year earlier. It has already taken the axe to a planned new $20bn gas-to-liquids project in Louisiana and is reviewing other projects in its loss-making US Upstream division.
Meanwhile the Norwegian state oil group, Statoil, has indicated that rising costs might encourage it to pull out of future work in the Arctic waters of Greenland. Cairn Energy, which pioneered drilling there in recent times, has also signalled it will not drill off Greenland this summer.
Environmental campaign group Platform has been holding meetings with institutional investors encouraging them not to back any drillers in the far north.
Anna Galkina of Platform said Shell plans were putting at risk shareholder capital, the ecology of these seas, and the livelihoods of Arctic communities. "Van Beurden should call a halt to the company's plans in Alaska."
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