From Houston (BN): Shell continues to advance its plan for a summer Arctic drilling campaign with support operations based in Washington’s Puget Sound.

The semisub Polar Pioneer is en-route from Seattle as far as Dutch Harbor, in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, and the drillship Noble Discoverer has been cleared to move in the same direction from Everett, Washington.

Shell has successfully tested a blowout-control capping stack for federal regulators overseeing the plan to drill two wells at the BURGER prospect in the Chukchi Sea. Shell also has obtained more of the permits it needs.

One new permit allows it to dispose of waste from the two drilling rigs, another to ‘incidentally harass’ or ‘take’ (bureaucratese for affecting behaviour or accidentally killing) dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, and sea lions. (It is illustrative of the regulatory maze that must be negotiated that Shell still awaits a permit from another agency to ‘incidentally harass’ polar bears, walruses, sea otters and birds.)

Meanwhile, protests continue, and opponents pursue every legal avenue to stop the planned drilling. Among recent headlines: Jane Fonda (‘expertise’ based on starring in a movie about nuclear disaster) calls Arctic drilling ‘obscene.’

Dolphin Group has initiated a 3-D SHarp broadband multi-client survey covering about 15,000 sq km on Australia’s NORTHWEST SHELF.

In cooperation with TGS and supported by major oil companies, Dolphin mobilised its high capacity 3-D Sanco Swift vessel to acquire the North Carnarvon Basin survey covering both newly awarded licensed and open acreage.

Prior to this survey Dolphin, in collaboration with TGS, said it will complete Phase 1 of approximately 2,500 sq km of the Monuments MC 3-D survey with the same vessel. This is due to be completed about 25 June.

Lundin Petroleum has spudded two appraisal wells and one exploration well offshore Norway.

The second ALTA appraisal well 7220/11-3 in PL609 has a planned total depth of 2,071m and will be drilled using the Island Innovator semisub.

The Edvard Grieg appraisal well 16/1-23 S, located in PL338 in the southeastern part of the Edvard Grieg field, will test the upside reserve potential in the field, which is estimated to be up to 50mmboe. Planned total depth for this well, which will be drilled using the Rowan Viking, is 2,201m.

In the southern North Sea, the Zeppelin exploration well 10/4-1 in PL734 will be drilled using the Borgland Dolphin.

Lundin estimates the Zeppelin prospect to have the potential to contain unrisked, gross prospective resources of 152mmboe.

Premier Oil is working towards an H1 2016 spud date for its BAGPUSS exploration well, located in Block 13/24c of the UK North Sea.

A semisubmersible rig will be used and options to contract the rig are under evaluation to optimise costs, Premier said.

Faroe Petroleum has kicked off the follow-up drilling programme to the significant PIL/BUE 2014 discoveries in the PL586 licence in the Norwegian Sea with the spudding of exploration well 6406/12-4S (Faroe 25%) on the Boomerang prospect.

And the Shell-operated exploration well to test the Portrush prospect in the PL793 licence, in which Faroe has a 20% stake, has been added to the expected programme for Q3 2015.

Offshore