Shell concedes defeat in the Arctic after poor results

The company have abandoned the multi-billion dollar drilling campaign after facing difficulty in the region

Poor exploration results this summer have prompted Shell to abandon a multi-billion dollar drilling campaign in the US Arctic. Its prospects had already looked fragile given high costs, low oil prices, regulatory uncertainty and environmental opposition. Shell said it found indications of oil and gas in the Burger J well it drilled in the Chukchi Sea, but that these had not proved sufficient to warrant further exploration. The well, drilled to a total depth of 6,800 feet in 150 feet of water at a location some 150 miles from Barrow, Alaska, will be sealed and abandoned. The company said it would cease exploration activity offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future and that its decision was i