Shell Drilling Programme Starts Race for Arctic

Shell is preparing its biggest exploration programme in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska for more than a decade The Times newspaper of the UK reported today.

The company is expected to start a controversial three week programme next month with a small fleet of ships drilling a dozen wells in the Beaufort Sea, 30 miles off the Alaskan coast.

It is believed Repsol, Norsk Hydro and Conoco-Philips are ready to follow Shell if the drilling proves successful. BP already operates the North Star field on the coastline of Alaska's North Slope but Shell's exploration activity is 20 to 30 miles closer to the Arctic fringe.

Authorities believe the Beaufort Sea contains eight billion barrels of oil and nearly 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.