Dec 4 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc aims toreturn to Alaskan offshore drilling next July by deploying anupgraded drillship in the Chukchi Sea, while keeping a newlycontracted backup drillship ready if needed, according to plansreleased on Wednesday.
The Noble Discoverer, now undergoing maintenance andupgrades in South Korea, would perform exploration drilling witha containment dome kept on standby in case of spills.Transocean's Polar Pioneer would provide backup.
Drilling at Shell's Burger prospect is set to be carried outfrom July through October, according to Shell's IntegratedOperating Plan.
"We are still putting the building blocks in place for apotential 2014 program," a Shell spokesman said in an email."Drilling next summer is not a foregone conclusion."
A return would mark a big step for Shell after a troubled2012 season that galvanized environmental opposition to drillingoff Alaska's coast and forced the company to abandon explorationplans for 2013. The Transocean rig replaces Shell's Kulluk, adrillship that ran aground in January while being towed southafter completing its work off Alaska.
The Polar Pioneer - costing Shell in the range of $600,000per day to lease - will be kept on hand to drill a relief well"only in the unlikely event of an incident," according to theShell plan, which was posted online by the Bureau of OceanEnergy Management.
"The planned 2014 operations may encounter many challenges,"the Shell plan, dated Nov. 26, said. "Vast distances, harshweather and sea conditions, possible volcanic and earthquakeactivity, and sparse shore-based infrastructure represent someof the considerable obstacles that must be planned for andaccommodated."
Shell also said all its drilling operations would besupported by rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, along with icemanagement vessels and a weather advisory center.
