Royal Dutch Shell plc on Wednesday said it would pause exploratory drilling activity this year in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

The delay is to prepare equipment and set plans to resume activity at a later time.

“We’ve made progress in Alaska, but this is a long-term program that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way,” said Upstream Americas Director Marvin Odum. “Our decision to pause in 2013 will give us time to ensure the readiness of all our equipment and people following the drilling season in 2012.”

To date Shell has spent more than $5 billion and spent eight years preparing to drill in Alaska’s cold waters. Following years of delays and millions of dollars in planning, the operator last year secured the required permits and equipment needed to drill, and it was the first producer in more than 20 years given permission to drill in offshore Alaska. However, the oil major faced setbacks from the start of last year’s program.

In July, officials said they had scaled back initial plans to drill up to five wells and instead said they would drill only two offshore wells, in part because of construction delays on an emergency spill containment vessel (see Daily GPI, July 30, 2012). Last August, federal officials gave the operator the green light to begin “limited” drilling in the Chukchi (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31, 2012). Just one day after it began drilling, Shell had to halt operations in the Chukchi because sea ice had begun moving toward a drillship (see Daily GPI, Sept. 12, 2012). Days later it halted Chukchi drilling for the year after a containment system was damaged by ice (see Daily GPI, Sept. 18, 2012).

Shell in early October began drilling the Sivulliq prospect in shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea, but it halted all of its Arctic drilling at the end of October (see Daily GPI, Nov. 1, 2012).

Shell completed top-hole drilling on two wells last year in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas safely, with no serious injuries or environmental impact, the company noted. Another setback happened at the end of the year when the Noble Inc. Kulluk drilling rig, which was used in preliminary drilling, separated on New Year’s Eve from a tow vessel on it way to port and grounded on an uninhabited Alaska Island.

Shortly thereafter, the Department of Interior launched a high-level assessment of Shell’s Alaska program (see Daily GPI, Jan. 11). The Kulluk and the second drilling rig, the Noble Discoverer, are being towed to locations in Asia for maintenance and repairs, according to Shell.

“Shell remains committed to building an Arctic exploration program that provides confidence to stakeholders and regulators, and meets the high standards the company applies to its operations around the world,” said Odum.

“We continue to believe that a measured and responsible pace, especially in the exploration phase, fits best in this remote area. Alaska remains an area with high potential for Shell over the long term, and the company is committed to drill there again in the future,” officials said. “If exploration proves successful, resources there would take years to develop.”

In response to Shell’s announcement, Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she had been “a strong supporter of Shell’s activities in the waters off Alaska’s northern coastline and in energy exploration in general, but I have always said that it must be done to the highest safety standards. Shell’s decision to postpone this summer’s exploratory drilling program shows that it shares that commitment to safety.

“This pause — and it is only a pause in a multi-year drilling program that will ultimately provide great benefits both to the state of Alaska and the nation as a whole — is necessary for Shell to repair its ships and make the necessary updates to its exploration plans that will ensure a safe return to exploration soon.”

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