The Interior Department has tentatively approved Shell's plan for responding to an oil spill in the Chukchi Sea, a region of the Arctic where it has sought approval for offshore drilling. Although the plan has not yet been fully approved, it is now one major step closer. In a statement, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that "Alaska's energy resources - onshore and offshore, conventional and renewable - hold great promise and economic opportunity for the people of Alaska and across the nation."

Petroleum is already a major component of Alaska's economy and has been heavily politicized in recent years. "In the Arctic frontier, cautious exploration - under the strongest oversight, safety requirements and emergency response plans ever established - can help us expand our understanding of the area and its resources, and support our goal of continuing to increase safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production," Salazar's statement continued.

Shell has been subject to a great deal of pressure over its response plans after the chaos of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Leading up to this most recent push for access to Arctic waters, Shell has already spent around $4 billion on leases, seismic studies, and Arctic wildlife research since its first Arctic acquisition in the Beauford Sea in 2005. Its current plan is to drill as many as five wells this year, pending approval, in a region with an estimated 26.6 billion barrels of oil.

Shell's arctic plans have been staunchly opposed by environmental groups. Prior to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf, the largest oil spill in United States history had been the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill. Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity said that his organization is "disappointed but not surprised" that the plan was approved. He added, "There’s a lack of infrastructure and insufficient demonstrated ability to clean up in the Arctic. It's likely that this approval will be challenged in court."