- Pres. Obama is seeking to balance the need to meet oil demand and concerns about climate change as the U.S. government considers final approvals for Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDS.A, RDS.B) Arctic drilling plans, according to the State's Department's special representative for the Arctic.
- "If you go up to Alaska and speak to many Alaskans... they feel like the President is shutting down the Arctic, [but] when you talk to the environmental groups, they feel the president is opening up the Arctic," the official says.
- The Interior Department last week endorsed Shell’s plan to have two rigs drill as many as six exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska.
- Meanwhile, "Shell no" protesters shut down traffic for much of the day to and from the Polar Pioneer, parked at Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle, where crews prepare the Arctic drilling rig for its trip north.