I agree with the other people in this thread who have said it's expensive and with low prices, not necessarily worth it. That being said, it's worth noting tha

I agree with the other people in this thread who have said it's expensive and with low prices, not necessarily worth it. That being said, it's worth noting that Shell's exploration was offshore, in the Arctic Ocean, though the majority of current Alaskan production is onshore (or barely offshore) in Prudhoe Bay and the vicinity, mostly by BP with some collaboration with Exxon and Chevron. Onshore production is, all else equal, much less expensive because it's a lot easier. This is even more true in the Arctic where seasonal sea ice might make it impossible to set up a multiyear drilling platform like in the Gulf of Mexico, and drilling might have to be from ships instead of big floating rigs. As far as I know, this won't impact North Slope (e.g. Prudhoe Bay or ANWR) production.