Shell Pays $44mln To Operate In Alaska

Shell oil giant plans to explore for oil and gas in the arctic waters north of Alaska after having paid a one-time concession fee of $44 million, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported Tuesday.

The company still doesn't know how much oil and gas will be found there, because the seismic research has not been fulfilled.

According to the paper, the company will start a seismic study of the area in 2006 to chart the substratum.

The US government however has never submitted an official request to have the area designated a world heritage site and is in fact pressuring regularly to open the area up for oil extraction.

Shell has been active in Alaska for 50 years. The company stopped oil and gas production in the United States in 1998 to concentrate on the Gulf of Mexico.