Shell Oil has spent the better part of a decade -- and more than $6 billion -- trying to explore prospects in the Alaskan Arctic. But they have little to show for it.

Now that the clock is ticking down on their oil leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, Shell is asking regulators for more time.

The company is seeking a five-year suspension from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, to keep its leases from expiring. 

Shell's request has been in process since July. But it wasn't public until Monday, when the conservation group Oceana distributed a copy to the media.

Oceana lawyer Michael LeVine says it's not uncommon for oil companies to receive what's called a suspension on their leases. But usually, it only happens once a site is in production.

None of Shell's holdings are close to that point -- and LeVine says the company is misplacing the blame for that.

"Shell cites conditions that it says were beyond its control to justify a suspension and that claim is, at best, disingenuous," LeVine says.

In his 10-page letter to BSEE, Shell vice president Pete Slaiby lists several lawsuits and federal permitting problems that delayed exploration.

He also argues that the short ice-free season and rough conditions in the Arctic hindered his company -- as did the need to work around indigenous whale hunters and reduce emissions at the request of stakeholders.

LeVine says Oceana and others have asked the federal government to suspend Shell's leases before.

"If a suspension meant that no activities could happen for five years and the government would commit to putting in place a better plan for making better decisions for the U.S. Arctic Ocean, a suspension would be great," LeVine says. "That does not appear to be what Shell is asking for."

Shell holds leases on 38 prospects in the Chukchi and Beaufort sea that will expire starting in 2017. BSEE has already decided to pause some of Shell's deadlines in the Chukchi until a legal battle over the original lease sale is resolved. 

But Slaiby writes that a five-year extension across the company's entire portfolio would "provide Shell assurance that any further investment of the billions of dollars and effort to proceed with exploration and development will not be lost."

BSEE spokesman Nicholas Pardi wrote in an email that the agency is evaluating Shell's request, adding that they're all considered "on a case-by-case-basis."