No more exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic?

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will suspend – at least for the time being – all exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic for this year, being afraid of a disaster comparable with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, said an anonymous source inside The White House.

This means that the Beaufort and Chukchi seas will be off limits for prospectors during this summer, giving the government enough time to gather sufficient information about the proposed technologies. The official announcement will be made today.

The decision reflects the White House‘s desire to approach such matters with caution, based on scientific facts about resources, risks and possible effects of these exploratory drillings on the sensitive Arctic habitat of the now endangered polar bears.

This decision directly affects one of the largest American oil companies, Shell Oil Co., which had five exploratory drillings scheduled in the area, three of them for this summer.