The resumption of deep-water drilling

Yep it all Obama fault that no permit have been applied for OCS drilling, They are now being required to meet the requirements for OCS drilling containment plans.




By MICHAEL R. BROMWICH
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
March 5, 2011, 3:47PM

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Since the suspension on deep-water drilling ended on Oct. 12, some members of industry, advocacy groups, as well as some public officials and editorial writers, have claimed that the lack of deep-water drilling permits was evidence of a concerted effort not to issue deep-water permits. As time has passed, the criticism has grown louder and has increasingly drowned out the explanations we have provided for the delays in permitting new deep-water projects.

The events of last April provide the necessary context. On April 20, the Macondo well blew out, causing 11 deaths, sinking the Deepwater Horizon rig, and spilling close to 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This was the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The improvised attempts to gain control over the runaway well, which took nearly three months before succeeding, revealed as starkly as possible industry's failure to adequately prepare for and effectively respond to a deep-water blowout and spill.
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Until very recently, the main reason permits to drill new deep-water wells had not been approved was that operators were unable to demonstrate the ability to regain control of wells in deep water, as our regulations require. In private, they conceded as much, but the public discussion - focused on the absence of deep-water permits rather than the reasons for it - obscured those reasons. Following Deepwater Horizon, it would be unforgivable for drilling permits to be issued in the absence of an answer to the question, what happens if there is a blowout? Now one operator has shown specifically what it would do, and we expect others to follow.

The world of offshore drilling has undeniably changed over the last several months. We have a responsibility to enforce the new drilling rules, conduct better environmental reviews and require individualized demonstrations of well containment capabilities. That means that the pace of deep-water drilling permit approvals will not, at least in the short-term, match the pace of pre-Deepwater Horizon approvals. But the public can and should take comfort that, as deep-water drilling is resuming less than a year after Deepwater Horizon, it will be done more safely and responsibly than before.





http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7458626.html

For the first time!!! Read that again for the first time an operator demonstrated in advance they have a plan to respond effectively to a blowout. Doesn't mean it will work but at least they're doing some preparation for the inevitable. I don't believe that we are protected against these greedy bastards. It will happen again and we're just going to have to suffer through it again.

:grr:

Mar 7, 2011

Nick Snow
Washington Editor


The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement approved the first deepwater drilling permit on Feb. 28 since the Macondo well accident and crude oil spill. BOEMRE said Noble Energy Inc.'s application for a permit to bypass was for Well No. 2 in Mississippi Canyon Block 519 about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La.


The permit represents a significant milestone for both the US Department of the Interior agency and the oil and gas industry since Interior Sec. Ken Salazar placed a moratorium on new deepwater drilling following the well blowout and explosion which took 11 lives, BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich said.


"This permit was issued for one simple reason: The operator successfully demonstrated that it can drill its deepwater well safely and that it is capable of containing a subsea blowout if it were to occur," Bromwich told reporters during a teleconference. "We expect further deepwater permits to be approved in coming weeks and months based on the same process that led to the approval of this permit."

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http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/2626423989/articles/oil-gas-journal/volume-109/issue-10/general-interest/boemre-approves-first-deepwater-drilling.html