The decision to veto the proposed pipeline in accordance with Mr. Berger’s recommendation substantially slowed, but did not stop the search for oil in the Arctic. Over the next 40 years, oil companies such as Shell, Exxon, and Chevron would continue their search in a region expected to contain 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30% of its natural gas.1 But in 2015, Shell, the last remaining company in the American Arctic, announced it would halt its exploratory drilling. This would mark the end of their $7 billion venture into Alaska’s Chuckchi Sea. The well, the Burger J, stretched to a depth of 6,800 feet and showed indications of oil and gas, but amid relatively low oil prices, less than $50 a barrel, and the expense necessary to drill in this section of the ocean they have decided to cease operations. The company originally planned on drill two wells to greater than 8,000 feet, but in the wake of Shell grounding its Kulluck drilling rig, this number was halved by President Obama’s administration.2 This grounding was found to be, in part, the result of Shell’s ill-fated attempt to avoid paying millions of dollars in tax liability. Fortune’s Jon Birger noted in his visit to the rig after it was grounded that it was well prepared to prevent the incident that destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon, but, startlingly, was less equipped to deal with the unique weather conditions posed by drilling in the Arctic.3 The Berger report may not have halted Shell’s Artic exploration but a combination of regulatory restrictions and low oil prices seem to have done just that.

1. Lavelle, Marianne. "Coast Guard blames Shell risk-taking in Kulluk rig accident." National Geographic. April 4, 2014. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/04/140404-coast-guard-blames-shell-in-kulluk-rig-accident/.
2. Koch, Wendy. "3 reasons why Shell halted drilling in the Arctic." National Geographic. September 28, 2015. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/09/150928-3-reasons-shell-halted-drilling-in-the-arctic/.
3. Birger, Jon. "What I learned aboard Shell's grounded Alaskan oil rig." Fortune. January 3, 2013. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://fortune.com/2013/01/03/what-i-learned-aboard-shells-grounded-alaskan-oil-rig/.

In the 1970s, rapidly rising oil prices and scarcity, both real and perceived, as the result of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ near monopoly on the market drove many western countries to seek alternative sources of power in a bid for self-sufficiency.1 The drilling of oil in the Arctic would have proven a major source of oil to quell these concerns, but the proposal to install the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline was ultimately denied. In the period since publication, the price of oil has declined and the desire to drill in the Arctic has seemingly been calmed. The major oil companies have all withdrawn from the region, with Shell being the final one to do so after lackluster findings in Alaska’s Chuckchi Sea.2 In the time since, both the United States and Canada have placed moratoriums on oil and gas leasing in Arctic waters.3 Thus Canada has made an about face and is now placing the conservation of the Artic environment over the potential oil and gas to be found there. There is little surprise here, given the relatively low price of oil and a growing concern about its influence on the environment. Even if one is to disregard the possible long term benefits of oil consumption, the hazards from extraction and transportation are also considerable. Where they once hoped to lead the way to a more self-sufficient future through Arctic oil, they have now placed a hold the search. They felt it was simply too risky an expedition to undertake at the current time.3

1. AHRARI, MOHAMMED E. "The Oil Embargo." In OPEC: The Failing Giant, 111-32. University Press of Kentucky, 1986. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130j7ns.11.
2. Koch, Wendy. "3 reasons why Shell halted drilling in the Arctic." National Geographic. September 28, 2015. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/09/150928-3-reasons-shell-halted-drilling-in-the-arctic/.
3. "U.S., Canada ban offshore drilling in Arctic waters." CBC News. December 20, 2016. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/obama-ban-offshore-drilling-arctic-atlantic-1.3905384.