Shell hopes to lead the way with Arctic oil drilling

Shell will begin drilling for oil in the Arctic within a fortnight with two exploratory wells planned at a cost of £4.5bn.

Shell expects to find significant quantities of oil, but if none is found, it will consider withdrawing from the region entirely.

Approval from the US Department of The Interior was granted in May, with the condition that oil is extracted in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way as possible.

The sites, off the coast of Alaska, are nine miles apart and will initially be dug to just 50m deep, using conventional drilling techniques.

However, the move has come under fire from environmentalists, who argue that the pristine and delicate environment should remain untouched.

Exploration is expected to conclude by 2016, by which point Shell will decide whether to continue drilling. However, oil is unlikely to be produced in commercial quantities before 2030, even if all goes to plan.