Shell launched Arctic drilling on Thursday by sending a specialized bit spinning into the bottom of the Chukchi Sea, as critics protested against the campaign.

The company now has until Sept. 28 to drill the top portions of up to two wells at its Burger prospect about 70 miles northwest of the Alaska coastline, but after fixing a damaged icebreaker is hoping to convince regulators to let it go deeper this year.

The company is hoping to net a multibillion barrel oil discovery that could deliver a swift boost to its balance sheet and yield production decades from now.