NWT - After decades in the Beaufort Sea, the oil rig Kulluk is now in the process of being towed out of the area to Dutch Harbour, Alaska, to begin its new life as a second, relief oil rig.

The Kulluk drilling rig is being removed from the Beaufort after decades of work. - photo courtesy of Shell

Curtis Smith, a spokesperson with Shell in Houston, Texas, confirmed the rigs move in an e-mail July 28, adding the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was part of the reason for the decision.

"Following the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy and new concerns related to the readiness and availability of a second rig to drill a relief, Shell has made the decision to extract the Kulluk conical drill ship," he said.

Since Shell purchased the rig in 2006, it has been harboured in McKinley Bay near Tuktoyaktuk. Mervin Gruben, mayor of the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, said the move to Alaska isn't good for the area because there isn't going to be anymore work.

When the rig was operational, it employed up to 75 people, said Smith. Neither Smith nor Gruben knew how many local residents worked on the rig when it was operational.