Special Report on Arctic Drilling

June 18, 2013 - Over the last few years, RepRisk has detected an ever-increasing amount of news related to companies engaged in or planning drilling operations in the Arctic region. This report analyzes documented controversies, both fact and allegation, related to the five firms that received the most negative news or stakeholder sentiment due to related or proposed controversial practices within the past four years. The information has been taken from a wide range of sources used by RepRisk including newspapers, news sites, NGO and governmental sites, blogs and social media. Arctic drilling is a highly divisive topic. While many see it as a large, untapped and much needed source of oil and gas, critics have long claimed that opening this region to commercial drilling will create irreversible ecological damage in a still pristine part of the planet. They say it will wreak untold environmental damage and destroy livelihoods, impacting on endangered animals such as polar bears and in particular on indigenous communities. They further raise concerns that companies are incapable of properly applying contingency plans in the case of an accident occurring, due to the freezing waters, remote locations and lack of infrastructure. The five most controversial companies linked to the practice of Arctic drilling according to information collated in the RepRisk database are: Royal Dutch Shell Cairn Energy Gazprom Exxon Mobil Statoil