Shell: Drill Rigs Coming To Seattle Despite Pleas For Delay

SEATTLE (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell says it has a valid lease for Seattle terminal space and a tight timeline to prepare its fleet for exploratory oil drilling in Arctic waters, so the company plans to move in its rigs despite protests from activists and a request from the port that it wait. Shell's plan for exploratory drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska cleared a major hurdle Monday when the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved it. The Port of Seattle Commission on Tuesday voted to appeal, too, and to ask Foss to urge Shell to delay mooring oil exploration vessels pending a legal review. "Given the short windows in which we have to work in the Arctic, and our shared view that Shell's lease and the supporting contract with Foss is valid, we have made the decision to utilize Terminal 5 under the terms originally agreed upon by the parties involved — including the Port of Seattle," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in an email. Labor groups representing workers at the Port of Seattle noted the 400-plus jobs that the Foss lease has already brought to the city, while opponents argued that there are no resources available to respond to a major spill in the Chukchi Sea.

 

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