Government Says Blowout Containment Remains Hurdle For New Deepwater Drilling Permits
Responding to oil industry criticism of perceived delays in approvals of deep-water drilling permits after the Obama administration's lifting of a deepwater drilling ban several months ago, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement recently made it known that a primary stalling point is the availability of systems to contain another deepwater blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich told oil industry executives in a letter, "The most critical missing piece in the process of approving applications for permits to drill in deep water is the demonstration of well control and subsea containment capability." Bromwich further characterized blowout control and containment systems as critical to moving forward with safe and responsible deepwater drilling activities.
Exxon Mobile is leading a coalition of companies working on a system intended to perform crude oil containment and collection as deep as 10,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. According to the company, its group is focusing on finalizing an interim design to be put into use in the near-term, while a final and expanded containment system would remain in the works for deployment later.
According to one media report, the Exxon-Mobile collaboration, known as Marine Well Containment Co., represents but one effort toward development of a new containment system that would satisfy federal government requirements. The work by MWCC is aiming toward a system that would contain 100,000 barrels per day using a variety of components, including equipment derived from that utilized by BP in responding to the damaged Deepwater Horizon Macondo well in 2010. Another effort is being carried out by Helix Energy Solutions Group. Helix indicated to media that its containment system is ready to be deployed, with a capacity of handling up to 55,000 barrels per day at depths of as much as 8,000 feet.
While the delay in issuance of deepwater drilling permits reportedly is causing some economic difficulties for oil companies large and small, caution remains appropriate in light of the horrific consequences of the tragic loss of the BP Deepwater Horizon, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill in American history.
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