Kulluk drilling unit arrives in Kodiak Island safe harbour

Shell today confirmed its Arctic-class drilling unit, the Kulluk, has been safely towed to a safe harbour on Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, where it will undergo a thorough safety assessment before resuming its journey to its winter harbour for repairs and maintenance.

15-1-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — The Kulluk was driven aground by violent weather on the southeast shoreline of nearby Sitkalidak Island on December 31, 2012, while under tow from Alaska to Seattle, Washington State.

Commenting on the incident, Marvin Odum, President, Shell Oil Company, said: “We undertake significant planning and preparation in an effort to ensure these types of incidents do not occur.  We’re very sorry it did.   Since the grounding, Shell has worked with all parties in the Unified Command structure to ensure a safe outcome and to protect the maritime environment in the vicinity of the grounded vessel.  Thanks to the professionalism, dedication, and skill of all those involved in the recovery effort, I’m pleased to say those objectives have been met with no significant injuries and no environmental impact.

“At this stage, it’s too early to gauge any impact on our ongoing exploration plans, but with the Kulluk now safely recovered, we’ll carry out a detailed assessment of the vessel to understand what those impacts might be.  In the meantime, we will participate in the US Coast Guard’s investigation into the causes of this incident and will implement lessons learned.”

Enquiries
Shell Media Relations
International, UK, European media:  +44 207 934 5550
US media :  +1 713-241-4544

Shell Investor Relations
Europe – Tjerk Huysinga: + 31 70 377 3996
United States – Ken Lawrence: +1 713 241 2069

Drill Ship Kulluk

Drill Ship Kulluk

 

Cautionary note
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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.  We use certain terms in this release, such as resources and oil in place that SEC’s guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

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