Oil Change International, Greenpeace, and Platform – April 2015
Shell is currently moving its drilling rigs to Seattle in anticipation of resuming its US offshore Arctic drilling programme in July. However, it is far from clear that Shell has adequate physical or financial plans to deal with the impacts of a major oil spill in this remote region.
This briefing examines the significant challenges in dealing with such a spill, including a lack of response infrastructure, the ineffectiveness of key response tactics, and a lack of understanding of key aspects of the dynamic Arctic region necessary according to the National Research Council in the US to “make informed decisions about the most effective response strategies.”