This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive
compensation for actions taken through them.
After six years of back-and-forth with the U.S. government, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) (NYSE: RDS-B) yesterday began drilling a well offshore of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea, and the company will begin preparing to drill another well in the Beaufort Sea, offshore of the state’s North Slope. Final permission for the drilling was granted late last month by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
According to the company’s website, the latest estimate from the U.S. government indicates that up to 27 billion barrels of crude oil lie under the sea floor along Alaska’s outer continental shelf. Another 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are also believed to be present.
The last delay in Shell’s planned start to drilling came when the Deepwater Horizon exploded in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and dumping 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf. BP PLC (NYSE: BP) leased the rig from Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG).
Ironically perhaps, the planet’s warming temperature, which is largely attributable to burning fossil fuels, has reduced the amount of sea ice in the Arctic and made drilling offshore of Alaska a somewhat less-harrowing prospect. Similar projects could get underway off the north coast of Russia in the near future as well.
Paul Ausick
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.