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Shell’s North Sea oil spill draws U.S. attention
Something to watch as Royal Dutch Shell seeks approval to drill off Alaska’s coast: The company is reporting an oil leak from a U.K. platform in the North Sea.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday an oil spill has occurred at its Gannet Alpha platform in the U.K. North Sea, although it wasn’t immediately able to detail the amount of crude that has leaked into the ocean.
Look for environmentalists to argue that the incident makes the case against Shell’s plan to start drilling as soon as next year in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska’s coast.
On Friday afternoon, the League of Conservation Voters took to Twitter to argue that the North Sea leak shows that the Obama administration should “think twice” before letting Shell drill in U.S. Arctic seas, and other activists are also flagging the leak.
Shell’s Beaufort Sea exploration plan won Interior Department approval this month, but the company needs several more federal approvals before it can actually start drilling.
Friday’s Journal piece quotes a spokesman for the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change who said the North Sea spill does not appear to be large.
