ConocoPhillips Calls Off 2014 Arctic Season

Wednesday, April 10 2013

ConocoPhillips won’t be drilling in the Alaskan Arctic in 2014, the company announced Wednesday. The announcement follows on the heels of Shell’s decision to cancel its drilling season this year, and a report from the Department of the Interior calling for industry cooperation in developing Arctic drilling standards.

ConocoPhillips said in a statement that because of regulatory uncertainty it would “not be prudent at this time to make the significant monetary commitments needed to preserve the option to drill in 2014.”

The company has 98 exploratory leases in the Chukchi Sea, and had been planning to drill one or two wells next summer with a jack-up rig specifically designed for the Arctic. In the statement, ConocoPhillips says it will reevaluate its options once the requirements for drilling in the Alaskan offshore are clearer.

Statoil had previously announced that it has no plans to drill in the Arctic before 2015, so ConocoPhillips' announcement leaves Shell as the only company that hasn’t nixed drilling next year.



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