Shell (RDS-A) Gets Okay for Gulf Exploration Drilling

For the first time since the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, an oil company has been given approval to drill for natural gas or oil in the Gulf of Mexico, with the Interior Department giving Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) the go ahead.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, "This exploration plan meets the new standards for environmental review and marks another important step toward safer deepwater exploration."

Shell's exploration strategy is for its Auger field located about 130 miles off the Louisiana coastline, which it leases. They want to drill three exploratory wells in approximately 3,000 feet of water.

The Interior Department and the Obama administration have been under fire for dragging its feet on renewing or allowing new permits to give drillers the go ahead to continue drilling or begin new exploration, as in the case of Shell.

Royal Dutch Shell closed Monday at $70.87, up $1.00, or 1.43 percent.