Results of audit remain under wraps as activists warn lack of transparency prevents informed public response and could have dire consequences

The Obama administration’s process for giving Shell the go-ahead for restarting its drilling in the Arctic lacked transparency and prevented an informed public response, environmental groups have warned.

The results of a third-party audit required by the US government before Royal Dutch Shell be allowed back into the US Arctic remain under wraps, and the third-party auditor – supposedly taken on to provide better oversight – was selected and paid for by Shell, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement confirmed.

The consequences of such a lack of transparency and opportunity for public scrutiny are worrying, the environmental group Greenpeace says.



Shell had to exit the US Arctic waters in 2012 after the oil giant’s equipment failed an environment protection test. Its activities in the area that year were plagued by embarrassing mishaps, revealing it to be ill-equipped and ill-prepared to operate in the region’s treacherous waters and weather conditions. In one case, one of its giant oil rigs mistakenly ran ashore after breaking off from towing ships in rough sea conditions.

But last week the US government reversed the 2012 ban, meaning that Shell, which has already invested $6bn in Arctic oil exploration, is now set to re-enter the Arctic for exploratory drilling as early as this summer.

The decision by the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management attracted sharp criticism from environmental groups and scientists who warned of the likelihood of an ecological disaster. They also said there was a lack of infrastructure available to deal with such a disaster.

Letting Shell drill in Arctic could lead to catastrophic oil spill, experts warn Read more

According to a US government analysis released this year, the chances of one or more Arctic oil spills happening over the next 77 years are as high as 75%.

As part of its response to Shell’s disquieting performance in 2012, the US government issued a report in March 2013 requiring a third-party audit to take place before Shell be allowed to re-enter the region.

The first part of such an audit has taken place, but the second half of the audit – which will happen on-site as the Shell drilling is under way – will wait until this summer, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement confirmed.

The identity of the third-party auditor remains a secret, but it was selected and paid for by Shell. Gregory Julian of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the auditor had met the agency’s standards and approval before being allowed to take on the role.

Greenpeace has filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain details of the first part of the audit, but the information’s release has been delayed.

Even when they are eventually received, the results of “phase one” will not have been released in time for the 21-day comment period on Shell’s environment plan that was open between 10 April and 1 May of this year.

Although the first part of the audit gave Shell the green light, the content of the audit – its scope, questions and investigations – are unknown.

“President Obama says management and oversight has improved,” Tim Donaghy, a senior research specialist at Greenpeace, said. “But the lack of transparency makes us very skeptical.”

Donaghy warned the Obama administration was “courting disaster”.

Speaking from Camp David last week, and defending the decision to let the oil giant back in, Obama said that nobody was “more mindful of the risks involved and the dangers” of offshore drilling but that he was reassured by experts, concluding that Royal Dutch Shell had now met new “very high standards”.