A court decision regarding offshore oil and gas leases off the coast of Alaska could hinder oil giant Shell’s plans to drill in the Chukchi Sea. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Interior Department did not properly evaluate the scale of oil production that could result in the Chukchi Sea when it sold more than $2.6 billion in development leases in the environmentally sensitive area in 2008. Shell has devoted about $5 billion and more than eight years of work for its Arctic oil exploration off Alaska’s coast in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Shell’s preliminary drilling in the Arctic in 2012 was overshadowed with problems, including a grounded drilling rig, violations of air pollution limits, engine failures on a tow ship and an oil spill containment system damaged during testing, the Anchorage Daily […]