LONDON (Reuters) - Shell's offshore drillers have lost their race with the Arctic winter and abandoned hope of striking oil this year but will drill wells before the ice closes in to prepare for a 2013 search for the region's elusive riches.
Shell had until September 24 to drill into oil reservoirs in the Chukchi Sea, according to U.S. rules designed to accommodate the dangers of drilling in increasing ice and deteriorating weather in the environmentally sensitive region.
