Shell Pay a Million to Settle Arctic EPA Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced settlements with Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. concerning numerous air permit violations by Shell's 'Discoverer' and 'Kulluk' drill ships during the 2012 Arctic drilling season.

On September 5, 2013, EPA settled with Shell for violations of their Clean Air Act outer Continental Shelf permits for arctic oil and gas exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, off the North Slope of Alaska.

Based on EPA's inspections and Shell's excess emission reports, EPA documented numerous air permit violations for Shell's Discoverer and Kulluk drill ship fleets, during the approximately two months the vessels operated during the 2012 drilling season. Shell has agreed to pay $710,000 penalty for violations of the Discoverer air permit and a $390,000 penalty for violations of the Kulluk air permit.