Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has requsted that Alaska be included in a high-level review panel which will look at Shell's Arctic drilling operation last summer.
The Interior Department says it has called the panel to "identify challenges and lessons learned" after the troubled season Royal Dutch Shell had last summer in its efforts to drill exploratory wells in Alaska's offshore Arctic. The project was struck with a series of mishaps, and the trouble culminated in the storm-caused grounding of the drill rig Kulluk on a beach off of Kodiak Island.
The overarching review project, dubbed the Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic Operations, is distinct from the marine casualty investigation of the Kulluk's grounding, which is being conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard with the assistance of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the National Transportation Safety Board.
In his letter asking Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that officials from the state of Alaska be included on the panel, Parnell wrote:
He added:
The review is expected to be completed in 60 days.