Shell says it will stop offshore Alaska drilling 'for the foreseeable future'

Protesters in Seattle near the Polar Pioneer oil rig.

(Image credit: David Ryder/Getty Images)

published 28 September 2015

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said that it did not find sufficient quantities of oil and gas during drilling off the shore of Alaska, and will stop further exploration.

The company drilled in 150 feet of water about 80 miles off the northwest coast of Alaska, The Associated Press reports, the first exploratory well in the Chukchi Sea basin in 24 years. Shell USA President Marvin Odum said Monday the company, which spent roughly $7 billion on developing Arctic offshore drilling, is disappointed in the outcome. Environmental activists in Seattle and Portland tried to block Shell vessels from making their way to the Arctic over the summer, saying drilling would put polar bears and other animals in danger.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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