News bites: Shell tests ‘capping stack’ for feds ahead of Arctic drilling

The Houston Chronicle has the latest on Royal Dutch Shell’s march toward federal approval of its plans to drill in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast.

From their piece:

Shell tested its first line of defense against runaway Arctic oil wells for federal inspectors on Monday, marking a major step in the company’s final preparations to launch exploratory drilling in seas north of Alaska.

The tests focused on the capping stack that Shell intends to station between planned drilling operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas this summer in case of an emergency.

The Washington Post reports on a new study that shows the 2010 BP oil spill “accelerated the loss of Louisiana’s delicate marshlands, which were already rapidly disappearing before the largest oil spill in U.S. history.”

Bloomberg reports that “the coal-fired power industry in the U.S. is facing the biggest plunge in asset values in a decade.”

Reuters reports that South Korea “became the first major Asian consumer of Iranian crude to announce a halt to imports.”