The oil and gas company pressed ahead with its multibillion-dollar exploration program offshore Alaska this summer despite tumbling oil prices and strident opposition from environmental groups concerned that drilling in the region could cause an ecological disaster. The Arctic—one of the few remaining unexplored oil frontiers—was a prize too great to simply walk away from, but the company has changed its mind after the Burger J well it drilled in the Chukchi Sea this summer only showed traces of oil and gas. “This is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin,” said Marvin Odum, Shell’s upstream head in the Americas. And though in the longer term, Shell sees important exploration potential in the basin, it said it would cease further exploration offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future. The Anglo-Dutch company expects to book charges in its accounts as a result of this decision, and will […]