Despite dropping crude prices, black gold still buoys Shell in the Arctic
WASHINGTON, DC. — The Financial Times reported Shell’s (NYSE: RDS) annual profits for 2014, and even as oil prices came down from record highs, Shell’s 14 percent rise to $19.04 billion in profits rank it among the world’s most profitable corporations. In addition, Shell will likely receive a hefty share of $10 billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded subsidies again this year.
Oil giants Chevron and Statoil abandoned their Arctic drilling efforts late last year but the Financial Times also reported that Shell plans to drill in the Arctic this year and increase spending on Alaskan oil and gas exploration.
Friends of the Earth Climate and energy campaigner Lukas Ross issued the following statement:
The verdict is in. The price of crude may no longer be at record highs, but giant oil companies are still seeing giant profits. With Shell making enormous profits, it is past time to stop padding them with government handouts.
Corporations like Shell are driving us full-speed over the climate cliff. The last thing the Arctic needs is an invasion from Big Oil, and the last thing those invaders deserve are taxpayer dollars. Shell’s dismal record of accidents and safety violations demonstrates an inability to operate in the unpredictable Arctic waters. If we are going to avoid climate catastrophe we must make the Arctic off limits to drilling.
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Expert contact: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]