New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. , Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Monday expressed his support for the decision by Royal Dutch Shell to stop offshore oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
Namely, Shell informed on Monday it would back away from drilling in the Chukchi Sea, offshore Alaska, after failing to find commercial quantities at its Burger J well. The well was drilled using the Polar Pioneer semi-submersible drilling rig.
“The move by Shell to cease exploration for oil in the Arctic is the latest example that offshore oil and gas drilling is a bad investment that should not be a part of our country’s energy future,” said Congressman Pallone. “Five years after the Deepwater Horizon Spill, we’ve witnessed the detrimental and lasting environmental and economic damage that can be done by an oil spill. We are clearly at a point when we must not expand drilling off our coasts.”
Pallone introduced a bill earlier this year with Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. The Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing any lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in the North, Mid-, or South Atlantic Planning Areas.
While Pallone has consistently combatted efforts for offshore oil and gas exploration, Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, a proponent of offshore drilling, has expressed her disappointment with Shell’s decision to cease its Arctic drilling efforts. She has also slammed a “burdensome regulatory environment” for oil and gas companies.
Read her statement here: https://bit.ly/1Wv13UZ
Offshore Energy Today Staff