Friday, October 16, 2015

Federal regulators pull back Arctic offshore lease sales

FILE - In this May 14, 2015, file photo, the Royal Dutch Shell oil drilling rig Polar Pioneer is towed toward a dock in Elliott Bay in Seattle. Three weeks after Royal Dutch Shell announced it was walking away from exploratory drilling in U.S. Arctic waters, the Obama administration has taken steps to keep drill rigs out of Alaska’s northern ocean for a decade or more. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, the federal government is cancelling federal petroleum lease sales in U.S. Arctic waters that were scheduled for 2016 and 2017. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Three weeks after Royal Dutch Shell announced it was walking away from exploratory drilling in U.S. Arctic waters, the Obama administration has taken steps to keep drill rigs out of Alaska's northern ocean for a decade or more.