(Adds quotes from Interior Department, details)
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Departmenton Wednesday granted Royal Dutch Shell its final twopermits to explore for oil in the Arctic this summer, but saidthe company cannot drill into the oil zone until the requiredemergency equipment arrives to the region.
The department's Bureau of Safety and EnvironmentalEnforcement (BSEE) conditionally granted Shell permits for oilexploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska.
But Shell must have emergency equipment to contain apotential blown out well deployable within 24 hours beforedrilling into the oil zone, the office said. Shell discoveredweeks ago that the Fennica icebreaker that holds the requiredequipment, called a capping stack, had a three foot (1 meter)gash in it.
"Without the required well control system in place, Shellwill not be allowed to drill into oil-bearing zones," BSEEDirector Brian Salemo said.
Shell last week sent the Fennica, which it is leasing, toPortland, Oregon, for repairs. Fixing the gash and sending it back could take weeks.
The company said then it did not expect to require thecapping stack until August and that it could proceed withpreliminary drilling. Shell did not immediately return a requestfor comment on Wednesday.
Environmentalists have criticized Shell's drilling plans inthe Arctic, which is home to sensitive populations of whales,walrus and polar bears. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sandra Maler)