Shell subsidiary plans Arctic well

A subsidiary of Shell Oil applied to drill one exploration well next year in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s north coast.

Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby said the company will hold off on applying for permits in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast until two court cases challenging leases there are resolved.

Shell planned to drill exploration wells in both areas of the Arctic Ocean this year. The plans were put on hold by US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.