WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of Shell Oil Co. says the company did not ask a federal agency to delay a decision on the company's request to drill for oil and gas in Alaska's Chukchi Sea.
Marvin Odum, the president of Shell Oil Co., said after a Senate hearing Thursday that he only knew what he "read in the papers" about the delay granted this week by the Interior Department, adding that Shell did not request it.
But a letter from the Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department, says Shell requested the delay so it can respond to a deluge of public comments on the drilling proposal.
The Nov. 17 letter from John Goll, regional director of the Minerals Management Service, says Shell has 10 days from the receipt of the letter to respond to comments.
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