Offshore Drilling Safety Rules Finalized

By Admin
Share
The Obama administration has issued a final rule on offshore drilling safety that will cost the industry $130.7 million a year for additional inspecti...

 

The Obama administration has issued a final rule on offshore drilling safety that will cost the industry $130.7 million a year for additional inspections, testing and equipment designed to prevent another blowout like BP's 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Compared to the interim rule, the final one clarifies requirements in well-control barriers and the installation of mechanical barriers; defines testing requirements for cement; and extends requirements for blowout preventers to well-completions and decommissioning operations. It also saves the industry nearly $50 million compared to the interim rule from a reduced estimate for the length of time required for underwater testing.

As companies expand to drill sites at ever deeper levels in the gulf and move into the Arctic, environmentalists say the rules are not tough enough. Washington-based environmental group Oceana criticized the rule for failing to improve the interim one, which displace “lax inspections and laughably low fines,” according to Jacqueline Savits, the group's senior campaign director.

The new rule “is stronger than the interim rule but not strong enough,” David Pettit, senior attorney at the New York- based Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. “It should require real-world testing of the response time for containment of a wild well.”

SEE OTHER TOP STORIES IN THE ENERGY DIGITAL CONTENT NETWORK

Gaming Software Enables Virtual 3D Drilling Rigs

China's Sinopec Invests in Texas Clean Power Project

Read More in Energy Digital's Hottest Summer Issue

It requires a professional engineer to verify the safety of the well's casing and cementing, used to prevent uncontrolled leaks, which must then be certified by an independent third party.

Since BP's oil spill in the gulf, drillers have also added safety equipment and created systems to collect oil spilled under water. In light of the new rule, Shell has delayed drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off the coast of Alaska to review the requirements.

 

DOWNLOAD THE ENERGY DIGITAL IPAD APP

 

Share

Featured Articles

Is AI Data Centre Thirst Contributing to Mass Energy Waste?

Data centres supporting AI boom, they face crucial water use challenges, pushing for new sustainable cooling solutions

How Could the EU Omnibus Impact Energy's Sustainable Future?

Businesses & politicians voice concerns for sustainability over the European Commission’s upcoming omnibus package & its regulation simplification aims

Why is Equinor Halving Renewables Spend & Growing Oil & Gas?

Equinor is halving its investment in renewable energy over the next two years in favour of increasing oil and gas production

Could Trump's Tariffs Trump's Spark an Energy Trade War?

Sustainability

Q&A with Michael Deighton, SVP Operations at Kent

Sustainability

Chevron and GE Vernova: Tackling AI's Energy Challenges

Technology & AI