Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Mon, 07/27/2015 - 10:15am to 11:00am
Shell Oil invades Portland's and Seattle's harbors as it plans to drill for oil in the Arctic
Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s second largest company, wants to find oil under the seabed off the coast of Alaska. After a disastrous attempt at Arctic drilling in 2012, the company has returned this summer to try again to drill exploratory wells. But just like before, they’ve hit a major snag. Shell’s MSV Fennica icebreaker vessel, which was on its way to support Shell’s drilling fleet 70 miles off the coast of Alaska, is now at Portland’s shipyard to repair a 39 inch gash in its hull.
Earlier this summer, Seattle was temporarily home to Shell’s major drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, and its presence sparked massive protests. The same happened when the Fennica arrived in Portland on July 25. On this episode of Locus Focus, we talk again with Eric de Place, with the Sightline Institute in Seattle, about Shell's tenuous plans to return its drilling rig to the Port of Seattle this fall, while at the same time inciting equivalent hostility in Portland to the Fennica's presence at the Port of Portland. We'll also be joined by Sightline Fellow Nick Abraham who has done extensive research on Shell's generous political campaign contributions in Oregon.
Eric de Place is the policy director for Sightline Institute in Seattle. His article "Shell’s Rig is Headed to Portland" (co-authored by Nick Abraham) appears this week on the Sightline Blog.
Nick Abraham has a disconcerting love for digging through public records, financial data and energy stats and pulling out relatable stories. A fellow at Sightline Institute, he is now the editor and lead contributor of Oil Check Northwest, a watchdog group focused on oil and coal’s influence in the region.
More information on Portland actions against Shell's presence in town this week.
Earlier this summer, Seattle was temporarily home to Shell’s major drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, and its presence sparked massive protests. The same happened when the Fennica arrived in Portland on July 25. On this episode of Locus Focus, we talk again with Eric de Place, with the Sightline Institute in Seattle, about Shell's tenuous plans to return its drilling rig to the Port of Seattle this fall, while at the same time inciting equivalent hostility in Portland to the Fennica's presence at the Port of Portland. We'll also be joined by Sightline Fellow Nick Abraham who has done extensive research on Shell's generous political campaign contributions in Oregon.
Eric de Place is the policy director for Sightline Institute in Seattle. His article "Shell’s Rig is Headed to Portland" (co-authored by Nick Abraham) appears this week on the Sightline Blog.
Nick Abraham has a disconcerting love for digging through public records, financial data and energy stats and pulling out relatable stories. A fellow at Sightline Institute, he is now the editor and lead contributor of Oil Check Northwest, a watchdog group focused on oil and coal’s influence in the region.
More information on Portland actions against Shell's presence in town this week.
- KBOO
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your
Flash plugin.
- KBOO
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your
Flash plugin.