Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 1

SHELL ALASKA

January 2015

Community Update
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

Committed to developing 

Alaska’s Outer Continental 

Shelf in a measured and 

responsible pace 

 

2013 and 2014 

Paused exploration 

activity 

2

EXPLORATION 

PROGRAM 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

2015 – planning for a drilling 

program in Chukchi Sea at 

Burger site 

Drilling rigs: 

Noble Discoverer 

 Transocean’s Polar Pioneer 

Fleet of support vessels, similar 

to 2012 

 Anchor handlers, ice 

management, oil spill response, 

supply & towing 

Ninth Circuit – Lease Sale 193 

3

2015 

EXPLORATION 

PLANNING 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture Company name appears here Footer here Tuesday, June 10, 2014 4

Shell Conoco

ENI

Repsol

Statoil

Shell

Burger Prospect

Wainwright

Barrow

Well Location

CHUKCHI LEASES 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

2015 PROPOSED OPERATIONS 

Wainwright 

Oil spill response 

24 bed space 

capability 

Storage, lay down 

space 

Dutch Harbor 

Storage, lay 

down space 

1 OSR tanker 

1 OSR tug 

Barrow 

1 SAR Helicopter 

3 Crew Change 

Helicopters 

2 Hangars 

175 bed space capability 

(camps and hotel) 

Aviation Terminal 

BLUE: SHOREBASE & 

AVIATION

Kotzebue Sound 

2 OSR barges/tugs 

2 resupply barges/tugs 

1 landing craft 

1 crew boat 

Storage, lay down space 

 

Burger Prospect 

2 drillships 

2 ice management vessels 

3 anchor handlers 

2 tow vessels 

1 drill discharge monitoring vessel 

1 offshore supply vessel 

1 OSR barge and tug 

1 OSR tanker 

1 onsite OSR vessel 

 

 

YELLOW: MARINE 

VESSEL

5

Anchorage 

Main 

embarkation 

Offshore Supply Transit 

2 offshore supply vessels 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

Vessels in state PPOR location in 

Goodhope Bay 

 Support for Chukchi drilling operations 

 Oil spill response vessels 

 Emergency Response Material Staging 

 July 10 – October 2015 

 3-4 landing craft/crew boat roundtrips per week between fleet and 

Kotzebue 

Kotzebue footprint 

 20 crew changing/week 

 7-10 cargo totes groceries/week 

 Up to 25 rooms utilized at Nullagvik 

Hotel 

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2015 KOTZEBUE 

OPERATIONS 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

KOTZEBUE SOUND 2015 TRANSIT 

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Transit Route for Anchor 

Deployment/Refuel

Transit Route for Crew 

Boat / Landing Craft
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

ACS & CORBIN FOSS 

• Arctic Challenger (barge) 

• Length: 310.1 ft 

• Width: 104.4 ft 

• Draft: 19.3 ft 

• Accommodations: 72 

• Maximum Speed: N/A 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley

• Corbin Foss (tug) 

• Length: 141.4 ft 

• Width: 40.0 ft 

• Draft: 18.5 ft 

• Accommodations: 11 

• Maximum Speed: 12 knots 

• Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

ARCTIC ENDEAVOR & POINT OLIKTOK 

• Arctic Endeavor (barge) 

• Length: 205 ft 

• Width: 90 ft 

• Draft: 15 ft 

• Accommodations: N/A 

• Maximum Speed: N/A 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley

• Sea Prince (tug) 

• Length: 190 ft 

• Width: 32.0 ft 

• Draft: 8.5 ft 

• Accommodations: 8

• Maximum Speed: 8 knots 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

TUUQ & LAUREN FOSS 

• Tuuq (barge) 

• Length: 400 ft 

• Width: 99.5 ft 

• Draft: 19.33 ft 

• Accommodations: N/A 

• Maximum Speed: N/A 

• Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime 

• Lauren Foss (tug) 

• Length: 141.4 ft 

• Width: 40.0 ft 

• Draft: 19.5 ft 

• Accommodations: 11 

• Maximum Speed: 12 knots 

• Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

 AMERICAN TRADER & TUG 

• American Trader (barge) 

• Length: 382.2 ft 

• Width: 105 ft 

• Draft: 20 ft 

• Accommodations: N/A 

• Maximum Speed: N/A 

• Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime 

• Tug (Barbara Foss) 

• Length: 126 ft 

• Width: 34.0 ft 

• Draft: 14.6 ft 

• Accommodations: 9 

• Maximum Speed: 10 knots 

• Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

LANDING CRAFT 

• Landing Craft/Crew Boat (TBD) 

• Length: 134 ft 

• Width: 32 ft 

• Draft: 6 ft 

• Accommodations: 17

• Maximum Speed: 10 knots 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 13

MITIGATION 

MEASURES 

Collaboration and communication 

with subsistence users 

Communication Centers 

Subsistence Advisors 

Public community meetings twice a 

year 

Protected Species Observers on all 

vessels 

Community Liaison Officers 

Maximizing opportunities to utilize 

local contracting 

Northwest Arctic Borough Science 

Agreement 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

Extensive training and 

preparation 

Drilling the well on paper 

Bottomhole pressure control 

Drilling mud 

Real-Time Operations Center 

Well design and 

construction 

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OIL SPILL 

PREVENTION 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 15

MULTIPLE BARRIERS 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 16

OIL SPILL 

RESPONSE 

Offshore Recovery  Subsea Containment System  OSR Vessel with Skimming Vessels  Arctic Tanker  Vessel of Opportunity  Booms, Skimmers, and Pumps 

Nearshore Recovery  Oil Spill Response Barge  Skimming Vessels  Mini Barges  Booms, Skimmers, and Pumps 

Onshore Recovery  Pre-staged Equipment and Personnel  Booms, Skimmers  Landing Craft and Utility Vessels 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

Building a strong understanding of the 

Arctic environment 

Offshore Oceanographic Studies 

 Integrated ecosystem wide baseline 

studies (benthos, zooplankton, marine 

mammals, sea birds) 

Ice and Metocean buoys 

 Provides critical data for ice and weather 

forecasting and supports NOAA 

forecasting 

 Ocean currents 

Northwest Arctic Borough Science 

Agreement 

 Addressing community information 

requests 

 Conducting local and regional science 

 Incorporating traditional knowledge 

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2014 SCIENCE 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture

Oceanographic Research 

 Using seafloor acoustic devices to record sea mammal calls 

 Deploy sea ice and metocean buoys 

Environmental Monitoring at drilling rigs 

 Seafloor and seawater sampling program 

Continue Northwest Arctic Borough Science Agreement 

 Support Subsistence mapping initiative and other science projects 

Partner with federal agencies to conduct oceanographic research 

 Arctic Marine Biological Observatory Network 

 

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2015 SCIENCE 
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 19
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 20

DRILLING RIGS 

Discoverer

• Drilling Rig 

• Length: 514 ft 

• Width: 71 ft 

• Draft: 26 ft 

• Accommodations: 124 

• Owner/Operator: Noble Corporation 

Polar Pioneer

• Drilling Rig 

• Length: 279 ft

• Width: 233 ft

• Draft: 30 ft

• Accommodations: 100 

• Owner/Operator: TransOcean (Panama)
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 21

ICE MANAGEMENT 

Nordica

• Ice Management 

• Length: 380 ft 

• Width: 85 ft 

• Draft: 27 ft 

• Accommodations: 77 

• Owner/Operator: Arctia Offshore (Finland)

Fennica

• Ice Management 

• Length: 380 ft

• Width: 85 ft

• Draft: 27 ft

• Accommodations: 77 

• Owner/Operator: Arctia Offshore (Finland)
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 22

ANCHOR HANDLERS 

Aiviq

• Anchor Handler

• Length: 360.8 ft

• Width: 80 ft

• Draft: 28 ft

• Accommodations: 64 

• Owner/Operator: Edison 

Chouest

Ross

• Anchor Handler 

• Length: 256 ft

• Width: 54 ft

• Draft: 18 ft

• Accommodations: 39 

• Owner/Operator: Edison 

Chouest

Tor Viking 

• Anchor Handler 

• Length: 274 ft

• Width: 59 ft

• Draft: 20 ft

• Accommodations: 23 

• Owner/Operator: Trans 

Viking (Sweden)
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 23

FLEET RESUPPLY 

Sisuaq

• Fleet Resupply 

• Length: 292 ft

• Width: 64 ft

• Draft: 19.6 ft

• Accommodations: 50 

• Owner/Operator: Harvey 

Gulf

Champion

• Fleet Resupply 

• Length: 300 ft

• Width: 64 ft

• Draft: 19.6 ft

• Accommodations: 50 

• Owner/Operator: Harvey 

Gulf

Supporter

• Fleet Resupply 

• Length: 300 ft

• Width: 64 ft

• Draft: 19.6 ft

• Accommodations: 50 

• Owner/Operator: Harvey 

Gulf
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 24

OCEAN-GOING TUGS 

Ocean-going Tug (TBN - not 

contracted)

• Tug Support Vessel 

• Length: 146 ft

• Width: 46 ft

• Draft: 21 ft

• Accommodations: 13 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley

Ocean-going Tug (TBN – not 

contracted) 

• Tug Support Vessel 

• Length: 146 ft

• Width: 46 ft

• Draft: 21 ft

• Accommodations: 13 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 25

OIL SPILL RESPONSE 

Nanuq

• Oil Spill Response 

• Length: 301 ft

• Width: 60 ft

• Draft: 21 ft

• Accommodations: 41 

• Owner/Operator: Edison 

Chouest

Klamath

• Oil Spill Response 

• Length: 333 ft

• Width: 76 ft

• Draft: 22 ft

• Accommodations: 0 

• Owner/Operator: 

Crowley

Guardsman

• Tug Support - OSR 

• Length: 136.2 ft

• Width: 36.6 ft

• Draft: 20 ft

• Accommodations: 11 

• Owner/Operator: Crowley
Shell Exploration & Production Company, Alaska Venture 26

TANKER & DRILL DISCHARGE MONITORING 

Tanker (TBN – not contracted)

• OSR/Refueling 

• Length: 748 ft

• Width: 105.9 ft

• Draft: 46.8 ft

• Accommodations: 24 

• Owner/Operator: Transpetrol

(Singapore)

Harvey Explorer

• Drilling Discharge 

Monitoring 

• Length: 240 ft

• Width: 56 ft

• Draft: 14.5 ft (max draft)

• Accommodations: 42 

(includes crew cabins)

• Owner/Operator: Harvey Gulf