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Royal Dutch Shell has terminated its plans to continue exploratory drilling off Alaska’s North Slope, but it’s still possible that some of its fleet may return to Seattle.
A city hearing examiner cleared the way for that possibility last week by ruling that using the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 as home-port the Polar Pioneer and its support vessels was a permissible cargo-terminal use.
Deputy Hearing Examiner Anne Watanabe said the city’s attempt to require a new land-use permit relied on "inaccurate and incomplete" characterizations of the work to be done.
Foss Maritime, which leased the terminal for two years to service Shell’s huge Polar Pioneer oil rig and related ships, said it is "awaiting decisions on which
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vessels will be returning to Puget Sound and where they will be moored."
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in a statement the company is demobilizing its fleet after the summer-drilling season in the Chukchi Sea. "How that will impact Seattle in terms of potential future asset staging has yet to be decided."
The company announced it is abandoning the drilling effort in Alaska "for the foreseeable future," citing the disappointing results of an initial well, the high costs of development and the "challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska."
For more of the Seattle Times story:
www.seattletimes.com
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