Arctic Shell Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday filed a formal exploration plan for the Arctic waters north of Alaska, marking an important step forward for its ambition to drill next summer what will be the world’s most closely watched oil well. The plan for multiple wells in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska was delivered to US federal regulators in Anchorage. Shell needs the interior department to approve the programme, a revision of its previous plan, to be able to drill when the ice clears next summer, which is expected to be in mid-July. In a statement, the company said it wanted to keep its “2014 exploration options viable”, and it would “only proceed if the programme meets the conditions necessary to proceed safely and responsibly”. Shell will be targeting the Burger prospect, seen as the most promising potential oilfield in an area in which the […]