Shell Oil has retained a Dept. of the Interior veteran to handle extension of offshore drilling leases in the outer Continental Shelf.

Peter Schaumberg spent more than 25 years in the department’s Office of Solicitor as associate deputy for mineral resources. He joined Beveridge & Diamond in 2006.

Shell in 2008 spent $2.1B to lease blocks in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, which could hold more than 15 billion barrels of oil.

It began preliminary drilling in 2102, but stopped after an accident. Shell then suspended 2013 drilling there.

The Interior Dept. plans to release new regulations regarding Alaskan offshore development next year.

Shell CEO Peter Voser told the Financial Times on Oct. 7 that Alaska is a long-term investment,but he doesn’t know if “we’ll go back in 2014 or 2015.”

He expects “over the months to come, we will get more clarity on how we are prepared and how we can drive this forward.”