Overnight Energy: Shell abandons the Arctic

by Devin Henry - 09/28/15 5:54 PM ET

‘SHELL NO,’ INDEED: Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned plans to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean “for the foreseeable future.”

Green groups cheered the oil giant’s decision on Monday, which came after more than a month of oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea. The company said it found some oil in its exploration well, but not enough to justify the deep costs associated with setting up further drilling operations there.

{mosads}”Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the U.S.,” Shell Upstream Americas Director Marvin Odum said in a statement.

“However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.”

Environmentalists, who had slammed Shell for pushing forward with the drilling expedition — and the Obama administration for green-lighting it — were pleased with the decision on Monday.

“While this is a victory for everyone who hoped to avoid a catastrophic spill — or catastrophic climate change — from Shell’s plans, it’s also proof positive that drilling in the Arctic is too costly to be effective and a bad bet for other energy companies,” said Annie Leonard, the executive director of Greenpeace USA, which led protests against Shell this summer.

Shell and Republicans, though, blamed federal government regulations as among the reasons for abandoning the project.

“It is clear that the federal regulatory environment — uncertain, ever-changing, and continuing to deteriorate — was a significant factor in Shell’s decision,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said.

Read more here and here.

ON TAP TUESDAY I: EPA Acting Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on EPA clean air regulations. Committee members, especially Republicans, are expected to push her on forthcoming ozone rules and the Clean Power Plan rule for power plants.

ON TAP TUESDAY II: The Hill hosts an event on methane regulations from the Obama administration. Joe Goffman, the associate assistant administrator and senior counsel at the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, will be among those speaking. Register here or follow along at @TheHillEvents on Twitter.

Rest of Tuesday’s agenda:

A Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee will hold a hearing on pipeline safety. Christopher Hart, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, will testify.

Dan Ashe, the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and Govs. Matt Mead (R-Wyo.) and Steve Bullock (D-Mont.) will testify at a Senate Environment and Public Works panel hearing on the Endangered Species Act.

A House Natural Resources Committee panel will hold a hearing on forest management.

EPA’s Goffman will speak at an Environmental and Energy Study Institute event on state compliance with the Clean Power Plan.

AROUND THE WEB:

The Alaska Daily News reports on the impact Shell’s Arctic drilling decision will have on the state’s economy.

The United Kingdom will spend $8.8 billion on climate change mitigation efforts in poor countries, the Guardian reports.

Walmart, which is looking to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources, will buy 58 percent of the energy produced by a new wind power fleet in Texas, Fortune reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Monday’s stories …

-Obama climate official predicts ‘monumental undertaking’ at UN
-EPA rolls out pesticide protections for farm workers
-Dems want ‘strong’ action against Volkswagen
-Alaska senator blames regulations for pushing Shell out of Arctic
-NFWF announces $3.3M in grants to save monarch butterfly
-German prosecutors investigating former Volkswagen CEO
-Brazil announces greenhouse gas emissions goals
-Shell to abandon Arctic drilling efforts
-Week ahead: EPA set to release ozone rule