Shell Expands Operations Into Alaskan "Heartland"

Shell has announced plans to expand exploration in Alaska after winning bids to explore the Chukchi Sea.

The company bid a total of US$2.1bn on 275 lease blocks, including lease 193 in the Chukchi Sea, offshore northwest Alaska.

Last summer, Shell began a drilling programme in the Beaufort Sea, 30 miles off the Alaskan coast.

"Our entry into the Chukchi Sea, combined with our lease holdings in the Beaufort Sea, further solidifies our position in Alaska, which has the potential to become a new heartland for Shell," says executive vice president of exploration David Lawrence.

Last month, the US blocked the release of a landmark assessment of oil and gas activity in the Arctic as it prepared to sell off exploration licences in the Chukchi Sea.

The area, one of the last remaining habitats of the polar bear, is currently being assessed by scientists to give an up-to-date picture of oil and gas exploration in the high north.

Rival BP operates the Northstar field on the coastline off Alaska's North Slope.

By Ozge Ibrahim