Washington (Platts)--15Aug2007

Shell Oil cannot begin exploration and development work off Alaska's
Arctic Coast this fall under an order handed down Wednesday by a US appellate
court.

     A three-member panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco overturned the Minerals Management Service's approval of Shell's
2007-2009 Beaufort Sea exploration plans until the court decides whether MMS
conducted a thorough enough analysis in granting the major permission to
explore the area.

     "Petitioners...have (1) shown a probability of success on the merits,
combined with the possibility of irreparable harm if relief is denied, and (2)
raised serious questions and demonstrated that the balance of hardships tip
sharply in their favor," the court ruled in granting environmental and native
group's request to continue a temporary injunction on Shell's exploration
work.

     The court set a briefing schedule that begins in early September and ends
in early November. A hearing is tentatively scheduled for the first week of
December, the court said.

     Shell did not immediately respond to request for comment.

		--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com