Big Oil Abandons $2.5 Billion in U.S. Arctic Drilling Rights
- Drillers forfeit millions of acres amid slump in oil prices
- Royal Dutch Shell still holding on to one lease in Chukchi Sea
Why Big Oil Is Giving Up on the Arctic
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After plunking down more than $2.5 billion for drilling rights in U.S. Arctic waters, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ConocoPhillips and other companies have quietly relinquished claims they once hoped would net the next big oil discovery.
The pullout comes as crude oil prices have plummeted to less than half their June 2014 levels, forcing oil companies to cut spending. For Shell and ConocoPhillips, the decision to abandon Arctic acreage was formalized just before a May 1 due date to pay the U.S. government millions of dollars in rent to keep holdings in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska.