Authorities say grounded Shell drilling rig is 'stable'
Wednesday 02 January 2013
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EmailAlaskan officials said today that there was no sign that a Shell oil rig that ran aground on New Year's Eve was leaking fuel.
But environmentalists said it was just another example of the lunacy of trying to get at fossil fuels in the Arctic.
US response co-ordinator Captain Paul Mehler said the Kulluk is carrying about 143,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lubricating oil and hydraulic fluid, but appeared stable after running aground on the uninhabited Sitkalidak island.
However Greenpeace warned: "Shell's attempts to find oil in the Arctic have lurched from one expensive and reckless farce to another.
"Were the pristine environment of the frozen north not at risk of an oil spill it would be almost comical. Instead it's tragic."
Democratic Congressman Ed Markey added: "Oil companies keep saying they can conquer the Arctic, but the Arctic keeps disagreeing with the oil companies."
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