Royal Dutch Shell Plc and any oil drilling company that prospects in the Arctic Ocean must boost safety practices to prevent spills in the frigid and often hostile waters or mitigate the impact, U.S. regulators proposed Friday. The Interior Department’s first Arctic-specific drilling rules respond to mishaps that plagued Shell as it sought oil north of Alaska three years ago. As the White House considered the plan, Shell said the requirements might make it too expensive to invest in the isolated but energy-rich waters. “The Arctic region is known for its challenging environmental conditions, geographic remoteness and relative lack of existing infrastructure,” according to the proposal from the department’s offshore safety agency. There is a “need to develop additional measures specifically tailored to the operational and environmental conditions of the Arctic.” Shell has said it wants to resume exploration when the weather gets warmer this year after […]