Getting your player ready...
NEW YORK — The Interior Department on Thursday granted Royal Dutch Shell conditional approval of its plan to begin drilling exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean next summer, a strong sign that the Obama administration is easing a regulatory clampdown on offshore oil drilling that it imposed after last year’s deadly accident in the Gulf of Mexico.
It comes as the issuing of drilling permits in the gulf is quickening, including the granting Thursday of a permit for a Shell floating drill rig for a 4,000-foot-deep well. That means that that all five of the company’s rigs will be back to work after a long drilling halt.
