Oil firms, activists gear up for polar bear battle

Shell said it's too early to tell how the ruling will effect any of the company's offshore plans.

Shell is a major player in prospective offshore drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

In February, it was the high bidder on 275 leases for $2.1 billion in the Chukchi Sea. The Minerals Management Service still is reviewing those bids, the company said.

The area where the leases were sold is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania and part of a marine habitat used by one of two of Alaska's polar bear populations.

"Shell's polar bear policy currently meets or exceeds all existing regulatory requirements including reporting, training and avoidance measures," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in a prepared statement.

"In the future, as new regulations take shape, Shell will work with regulatory agencies and stakeholders to determine if additional mitigation measures are needed," he said. "Shell is absolutely committed to operating in a safe and environmentally responsible manner in the Alaska offshore."

ConocoPhillips also turned in 98 high bids for $506 million in February. It took no position on the ruling as of Wednesday afternoon.

Shell also has 179 leases in the Beaufort Sea for $84 million. It's hoping to begin some exploratory drilling this year, pending a favorable ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the company's ability to get the appropriate permits.

Last year, environmental and Native Alaskan groups asked the appeals court to block Shell plans for exploratory oil drilling near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

They say Minerals Management Services didn't fully consider the drilling's impact on endangered bowhead whales and other marine mammals.

With the region's brief summer window for drilling is approaching, Shell is hoping for a favorable so it can proceed after the ice recedes.

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