The United States Minerals Management Service (USMMS) approved a plan offered by the Royal Dutch Shell Company to start drilling two wells in the Beaufort Sea from July to October 2010. The wells are located on two leases that are 16 and 23 miles off the shore of Point Thomson. Shell had planned various other well drilling in the area, but this plan was not approved due to being inadequately reviewed according to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oil and Gas Jobs in Alaska

This time, Shell has proposed to drill during the open water season between July and October only, breaking for the mid season whale hunting for the Inupiat Eskimos. Although it has won approval from the USMMS, Shell still has to convince the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service to grant them the federal permits that are required, and to gain approval from Alaska’s coastal management plan.

Shell hopes that once all the permits are in place, they can realize their goal of drilling for oil in 2010 and provide plenty of oil jobs for local Alaska residents. The first well that is planned will target the oil rich Sivulliq Prospect (originally the Hammerhead Prospect), while the second well will be named Torpedo.

Whilst many residents are up in arms about the approval, the MMS is confident that working with Shell to ensure that offshore energy resources are developed responsibly, will be highly beneficial to all. There will be a commitment to ensure that the oil is drilled in an environmentally safe way. This, however, is something that, according to attorney Brendan Cummings at the Center for Biological Diversity, cannot be promised.

He maintains that it is impossible to drill safely in the Arctic due to the intense conditions. There are likely to be oil spills with the development of oil, and there is no technology to clean up an oil spill when it is icy. This said, Shell together with the USMMS have devised a solid plan that will protect the environment while drilling for oil. You can easily become part of this oil drilling process and enjoy working in a fascinating place if you join Alaska Job Finder.

With the crude oil prices the highest they have been for the past years, you can see that now is a good time to get involved in the oil industry. The crude oil price rose to $79 a barrel as the equities rose alongside. The November delivery is up by 1.4 percent, while the December delivery is expected to raise the price another 1.2 percent making this the longest streak in 2 years.

With the dollar decreasing, investors are turning to commodities such as the crude oil which has increased by 25 percent in the last 3 months. There has also been an increase in the crude oil inventories of about 1.5 million barrels. There are plenty of jobs you can get in oil and gas at the moment, and currently the top ones are oil jobs at refineries, working at the oil fields, drilling for oil offshore, and getting oil rig employment.

You can choose to work in oil in just about any country in the world in a number of positions. Many of these oil industry jobs you don’t have to study for, but you can learn all about them and how to apply when you join Oil Job Finder. If you want to find top Alaska oil jobs and join the new drills planned for 2010, you should check out the website now and start working on your application process.