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May 30, 2013

Grounded Shell Rig Left Alaskan Waters to Avoid Taxes 
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The oil giant Shell has admitted that an oil drilling rig that ran
aground late last year left Alaskan waters in a bid to avoid paying
millions in taxes. The Kulluk was trying to pass through the Gulf of
Alaska when it was pushed aground by a severe winter storm. The Coast
Guard had to rescue the ship's crew and the incident helped spark a
federal review of offshore drilling in the Arctic. Testifying to the
Coast Guard over the weekend, Sean Churchfield, operations manager for
Royal Dutch Shell in Alaska, said the decision to leave Alaska's Dutch
Harbor before the storm hit was driven by the economic factors." Shell
would reportedly have had to pay more than $6 million in taxes had it
stayed through January 1.

 

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