Royal Dutch has told the oversight committee investigating the Deepwater Horizon spill that shallow drilling in Alaska's Arctic waters is safer than the ultra-deepwater exploration required in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that Joe Leimkuhler, an offshore well delivery manager for Shell Exploration and Production, told the National Commission on the BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling that the two operating environments are "fundamentally different".

He insisted that it is "adequate to proceed" and stressed that the company will deploy a flotilla of vessels to support rig operations.

The supermajor has thus far spent around $3 billion on leases, equipment, oil and gas training and spill response planning, a Shell spokesperson confirmed.

Following the April 20th explosion which caused the Deepwater Horizon spill, the largest in US history, Barack Obama imposed a moratorium on all new drilling until the commission could assess new projects thoroughly in terms of operational safety and preparedness.

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