The company also said it will ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a recent opinion that affected Beaufort plans. This time Shell wants the full court to hear the case.
A panel of appeals judges this fall found that federal regulators improperly granted Shell Oil permission to drill. It ordered the Minerals Management Service to reconsider how exploratory drilling would affect wildlife and Inupiat Eskimo subsistence hunting and fishing.
Shell says the agency performed a complete analysis of the company's exploratory plan, and correctly found that it would have minimal impact on marine mammals and subsistence activities.
Shell says the court ignored the expertise of federal regulators.
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