Shell’s announcement last week that the oil company has ceased exploration activity in offshore Alaska did not take many industry watchers by surprise, even as the company seemed bullish about its prospects. In its press release , Shell blamed discouraging oil and gas finds in the “Burger J” well that was considered the brightest of its prospects, high project costs and “the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska.” That statement and the obstacles Arctic drilling has faced in recent years aside, falling oil prices appear to be the prime culprit. Back in 2007, when Shell launched its Alaskan Arctic oil exploration program, oil prices were booming, China was on a roll with a seemingly insatiable growth appetite and the threat of shale oil production in the U.S. was a distant prospect. Shell acquired its offshore Alaskan leases between 2005 and 2008, noted Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Sarah E.…