Alaska’s Governor Bill Walker met with Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee in Seattle Wednesday, saying that Inslee’s attitude towards drilling could hurt Alaska’s economy.
This was after Walker toured Royal Dutch Shell’s massive oil rig, the Polar Pioneer, in Seattle’s port where he expressed how impressed he was with the 400-foot-long ship’s crew and safety features.
The rig, which Shell intends to use to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northwest coast this summer, docked in Seattle two weeks ago amid protests and opposition from the city of Seattle.
Walker, an independent, told Inslee, a Democrat, that Shell’s project will create jobs for Alaskans and stimulate statewide development.
