Shell donates Canada rights to marine park

SHELL has donated more than 8,600 km² of offshore exploration permits in the Canadian Arctic to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) charity, to aid the establishment of a marine conservation park.

NCC says that it has released these permits, in Baffin Bay, near Lancaster Sound in the far northeast of Canada, to the Canadian government. The government has already proposed a 44,500 km² national marine conservation area in Lancaster Sound, which it says will be globally significant. Shell’s permits are outside the area, so would extend it still further.

The Canadian government has a target to protect a minimum of 10% of the country’s coastal and marine areas by 2020. In the proposed conservation area, activities such as fishing and construction are restricted to protect wildlife. The area in Lancaster Sound is home to important marine animals such as seals, narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales, walrus and polar bears. It is also an important seabird breeding area.

In addition, the Lancaster Sound Marine Conservation Area is home to various coastal Inuit communities, whose way of life will be protected for future generations.

Shell said that it has not conducted any drilling or exploration in the region since a moratorium was put in place in Lancaster Sound and Baffin Bay almost 40 years ago. Shell Canada president Michael Crothers said that contributing the rights to the Nature Conservancy of Canada builds on 30 years of joint conservation efforts.

“The Nature Conservancy of Canada is pleased to be able to work constructively with government and business to take meaningful steps towards achieving Canada’s global conservation commitments. We are grateful for Shell’s contribution. Together we are supporting the conservation of an area of uncommon beauty, incredible biodiversity and rich ecological importance for the benefit of Canadians and future generations,” said John Lounds, president and CEO of NCC.

It is not clear whether Shell’s donation is related to its decision, announced earlier this week, to focus on chemicals production and deepwater oil production. Shell bought natural gas giant BG group in 2015, and set out its new plans as it seeks to integrate the two businesses and survive the slump in the oil price. As part of those plans, Shell will exit up to ten countries and sell off 10% of its oil and gas production interests.

Drilling for oil in Arctic regions has always been controversial from an environmental point of view, and is fraught with difficulties due to the conditions. Shell itself has struggled, spending as much as US$7bn on drilling without success. Last November, the company abandoned exploration in the Alaskan Arctic after failing to find commercial quantities of oil. It also suffered serious equipment damage and was subject to protests from environmentalists.

Greenpeace has been one of Shell’s biggest critics and has led the campaign against the oil major for its Arctic drilling. Greenpeace Arctic campaigner Alex Speers-Roesch said that Shell was experiencing “Arctic shell shock”, and had finally realised that Arctic oil is a bad investment. He is unimpressed with Shell’s rights donation.

“The evidence indicated these permits had actually expired years ago. It’s a bit fresh of Shell to claim it’s relinquishing them voluntarily to support Arctic protection. This is their attempt to score some brownie points and exit from the scene gracefully, rather than having the permits pried from their hands by force, which is what would have happened to them otherwise,” he said.