The federal government has conditionally approved Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc.’s revised exploration plan proposing to drill up to six exploration wells in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea beginning in the 2012 drilling season.

But before it can move forward with exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea, the Houston-based producer must satisfy the conditions of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) approval, as well as obtain approvals from its sister agency Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regarding the oil spill response plan and well-specific applications for permit to drill.

In addition to the BSEE, Shell must obtain necessary permits from the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

One of the BOEM conditions requires Shell to mitigate the risk of an end-of-season oil spill by requiring Shell to leave sufficient time to implement cap and containment operations as well as significant clean-up before the onset of sea ice, in the event of a loss of well control. Shell also must cease drilling into zones capable of flowing liquid hydrocarbons 38 days before the first date of ice encroachment over the drill site. BOEM anticipates Nov. 1 as the earliest anticipated date of ice encroachment.

Shell acquired its leases in the Chukchi Sea in 2008 under Lease Sale 193, according to BOEM. Shell spent $2.1 billion to explore the leases.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was critical of the conditions imposed by BOEM on Shell. “Some of the conditions attached to this decision seem to be a response to newspaper ads, rather than founded in science. This arbitrarily curtails an already..very short drilling season, unnecessarily putting the project at risk,” she said.

The Arctic Ocean waters off Alaska’s northern coast contain an estimated 27 billion bbl of oil and 132 Tcf of natural gas, according to federal estimates.

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