ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Another major oil company is abandoning its plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean off the northwest coast of Alaska.
Statoil announced Tuesday it’s giving up 16 of its company-operated leases in the Chukchi (chuk-CHEE’) Sea.
The Norwegian company is also abandoning its stake in 50 Chukchi leases operated by ConocoPhillips. The leases are due to expire in 2020.
The announcement comes on the heels of a Sept. 28 decision by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to abandon drilling in U.S. Arctic waters “for the foreseeable future.”
Shell cited disappointing results from an exploratory well and a challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska.
Statoil had not drilled exploratory wells on any of its leases.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says in a statement he’s disappointed by the Statoil decision.
