Anacortes, WA- August 17, 2007- Shell Puget Sound Refinery will be conducting an oil spill deployment exercise on Tuesday, August 21, which will be observed by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The exercise will take place at Cap Sante marina in Anacortes, and will involve approximately 4,000 feet of boom and several vessels. The event should last approximately 4-5 hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The purpose of this activity is to test and implement Geographic Response Plan (GRP) - North Puget Sound 66 (NPS-66). This GRP is located at Weaverling Spit, on the west side of Fidalgo Bay "We do not believe this GRP has ever been tested, and we fully support and share the State's goal to have all GRPs tested," said Doug Thompson, senior engineer for Shell Puget Sound Refinery. "GRP's have been pre-planned by experienced agency personnel with public and industry input, but field testing is required to see if the plans can actually be implemented."

Geographic Response Plans were created to help the first responders to a spill avoid the initial confusion that comes with situations like these. These plans are initiated at the time of the spill, and are used until the Unified Command is operating and/or the spill has been contained and cleaned up. GRPs are developed through workshops involving federal, state and local oil spill emergency response experts, response contractors and representatives from tribes, industry, ports, environmental organizations and pilots*. The goal of facility and vessel exercises are to:

• Increase preparedness for actual emergencies.
• Provide the means to assess the effectiveness of response plans and response capabilities.
• Demonstrate the knowledge and skill of the plan holders.
• Serve as training tools for response personnel.
• Provide the opportunity to practice skills and improve individual performance in a non-threatening environment.
• Require participants to network with each other and pre-plan decisions on resources.
• Provide the means to educate and involve the public, media and key community organizations in response planning.
• Validate existing policies and procedures.
• Identify planning conflicts.
• Identify resource needs.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities of everyone involved.

"These types of exercises prepare us to follow the steps set up by spill response experts," said Sue Krienen, refinery manager for Shell Puget Sound Refinery. "Preserving the area's natural beauty and wildlife is of extreme importance to us. We're doing all that we can to ensure that if a situation such as an oil spill were to arise, that we would be entirely prepared to minimize any negative effects to our area."

No negative impact to the environment should occur as a result of this exercise. Representatives from the Samish Indian Nation have been notified of the refinery's activities, due to their proximity to the exercise site. Their response confirmed that they should not be impacted as a result of the day's deployment exercise.

The Washington State Department of Ecology requires refineries to conduct two deployment exercises per year. Once every three years, facilities and vessels are required to conduct a "worst-case scenario" drill, in which they must call on all of their resources. Shell Puget Sound Refinery conducted their worst-case drill earlier this month.

*Washington State Department of Ecology Publication No. 94-201 (Rev. 3/03)

Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 109,000 people, and operating in more than 140 countries and territories.  

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