Spill Response Infrastructure News

In an effort to spread out oil and gas production to other parts of the country and increase overall oil production, Brazil has finally intensified hydrocarbon exploration along its northeastern and northern coasts. These are some of the poorest regions in the country and infrastructure for oil and gas exploration is minimal, yet significant discoveries and seismic indicators of large reservoirs are tantalizing and have attracted major local and foreign investors. Potential for oil discoveries in the area is proven, yet players will be faced by many challenges offshore and on land in order to uncork reservoirs at the Northern Frontier.

The analysis considers that the US Arctic Ocean presents almost a perfect storm of risks: a requirement for a long-term capital-intensive investment for uncertain return; a remote and uniquely challenging operating environment; ongoing court challenges; a lack of extraction and spill response infrastructure; and the spotlight of the world’s environmental organisations, the US political community and international media. Royal Dutch Shell stands at a strategic crossroads. Its response…