Polar Pioneer Drilling Rig Arrives in Seattle Amid Protests and Controversy
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [REUTERS] by Victoria Cavaliere - May 15, 2015
The first of two Royal Dutch Shell drilling rigs slated for Arctic oil exploration arrived in Seattle on Thursday as environmental activists geared up for days of protests over plans to store the equipment at the city’s port.
Shell is planning to use Seattle as a base to store and maintain the rigs and other equipment as it resumes exploration and drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, where it has not drilled since a mishap-filled 2012 season.
The decision to resume drilling, and the port’s decision to allow Shell to lease space in Seattle, has been met with anger by some city leaders and environmental activists who say drilling in the delicate Arctic ecosystem could lead to an ecological disaster.
Environmental groups also contend that weather conditions make it impossible...
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