Shell Begins First Drilling in the Arctic Since 1990s

 Environmentalists have long opposed Arctic drilling. Here,

 Greenpeace activists dressed in polar bear costumes and

 others holding banners stage a protest on May 10 on the

  roof of a Shell petrol station in Prague (GettyImages)

After waiting six years and spending $4.5 billion, Shell took its first step in drilling in the Chukchi Sea, 70 miles off the coast of northwest Alaska in what could mark the beginning of a new wave of exploration in U.S. offshore Arctic waters. Shell announced that it begun drilling the “top hole” of an exploratory well early Sunday morning, reports the Los Angeles Times. The company will drill around 1,300 feet deep but will not be able to tap the hydrocarbon deposits until an oil spill containment barge is on site. That means the well could be completed next year.

Environmental groups have long opposed drilling in the Arctic, insisting that oil companies have not shown they have the ability to clean up a spill in ice-filled waters. They insist that a large spill could be catastrophic to the region and threaten the lives of many marine mammals, including polar bears, notes the Associated Press.