to read the Sept 17, 2013 pbs article by Redbecca Jacobson, visit
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/controversy-over-shells-oil-exploration-in-arctic-continues/ "The Natural Resources Defense Council compiled this timeline:
July 2012– Shell Oil’s Noble Discoverer drill ship drags anchor and nearly drifts ashore in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
September 2012 – Caught off guard by sea ice, Shell is forced to halt drilling – just one day after it started.
September 2012– In an initial test in Puget Sound, WA, Shell’s Arctic oil spill containment system is “crushed like a beer can.”
October 2012 – The CEO of French oil giant Total says drilling in the Arctic is too risky.
November 2012 – Noble Discoverer catches fire.
Despite national fears of another offshore oil spill, Shell Alaska vice president Peter Slaiby assured the public that the company had learned from the Deepwater Horizon accident.
“We are raising the bar in the way we have been working with local communities,” he said. “We have made 450 different trips to consult and listen to any concerns. We believe the way we are doing this is important – not just for Alaska but for the wider Arctic region.”
But on New Year’s Eve, the Kulluk broke free of its tow lines during a storm and ran aground on Sitkalidak Island. The ship was carrying about 155,000 gallons of fuel and other hazardous materials, the Guardian reported. None of the fuel aboard spilled, but the accident prompted the Department of the Interior to review of Shell’s operations. In February this year, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
announced that Shell will not be allowed to drill in the Alaskan Arctic without improved safety measures.
“Shell screwed up in 2012, and we’re not going to let them screw up when they try to drill in the Arctic again,” Salazar said when the department released its report.