The company has decided not to drill for Alaska's offshore oil and gas deposits this year, but it still plans to relaunch the controversial effort next summer.
While it's hasty to blame single storms on climate change, scientists do expect an overall increase in the most powerful hurricanes as the oceans heat up.
The Dutch oil giant is drilling 'pilot holes' off Alaska's northwest coast, an early step in its quest for petroleum deposits hidden deep below the seabed.