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Deepwater Horizon Incident

Regulatory Actions Affecting OCS Operators

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Regulatory Action	Date
Coast Guard Approves Winding Down BP Spill Cleanup	November 09
BSEE Approves First BP Drilling Permit to Meet Enhanced Regulations	October 26
BOEM Approves First BP Exploration Plan to Meet New Standards	October 21
Anadarko Settles Spill Claims with BP for $4 Billion	October 17
U.S. Allowing BP to Bid on Leases in the Gulf	October 14
Feds Kick Off Oil Spill Sanctions Against BP, Transocean & Halliburton	October 12
Gulf Coast Lawmakers Reach Compromise on BP Oil-spill Fine Money	October 06
Bill Aimed at Restoring Gulf Goes to Full Senate	September 22
Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation Team Releases Final Report	September 14
Salazar, Bromwich Announce Proposed Rule to Further Strengthen Offshore Workplace Safety	September 13
BOEMRE Director Delivers Final Speech Before Agency Reorganization	September 13
New Offshore Drilling Rules Hinge on Deepwater Horizon Probe	September 09
Marine Well Containment Company's First Non-Member Receives Permit Approval	September 09
BP Funds Texas Researchers For Gulf Oil Spill Study	September 01
Gulf Spill Report by Marshall Islands Steers Clear of Blame	August 17
108,000 Oil-Spill Plaintiffs Get a Trial Date With BP	August 15
WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates	August 01
Republican Unveils Offshore Drilling Oversight Plan	July 25
Transocean Ltd. Announces Release of Internal Investigation Report on Causes of Macondo Well Incident	June 22
BP Agrees to Settlement with Weatherford of Potential Claims Between the Companies Related to The Deepwater Horizon Accident	June 20
Judge dismisses a batch of Gulf of Mexico oil spill court claims	June 16
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) Issues Assessement and Recommendations From the Deepwater Horizon Incident	June 13
Feds to Extend Deep-water Leases Expiring Before 2016	June 08
BOEMRE Approves 15th Drilling Permit	June 01
IADC Comments on Volume 1 (Coast Guard) of the Joint Investigation Team's Deepwater Horizon Report	May 31
Regulation Reforms at Interior: Simpler, Smarter, and More Cost-Effective	May 26
Judge Orders Action on 6 Gulf Drilling Permits	May 26
After Final Judgement, Ensco, U.S. Get More Time to Reach Deep-Water Deal	May 23
BOEMRE Approves BHP Exploration Plan	May 18
Salazar Outlines Specific Legislative Priorities for Oil, Gas	May 17
Full Text of Salazar's Statements to Senate Committee and Obama's Energy Initiatives	May 17
Taxpayers on the Hook for BP's Gulf Spill	May 16
House Passes Third Bill to Increase Drilling	May 12
Shell Wins Deep-Water Drilling Plan Approval for U.S. Gulf	May 11
U.S. House Approves Bill That Seeks To Speed Up Offshore Drilling Permits	May 11
BP Rejects Claims for Gulf Drilling-Ban Losses, Damages to Cleanup-Boats	May 10
U.S. Must Act on Six Drilling Requests Within 30 Days, Federal Judge Says	May 10
Louisiana Lawmakers Propose New BP Oil Spill Legislation	May 09
BOEMRE Seeking Senior Executives for New Bureaus	May 06
House passes Bill to Force Offshore Lease Sales This Year in Gulf and Off Coast of Virginia	May 05
Louisiana Seeks Large Share of Oil Spill Liability Money	May 05
Anadarko May Settle Some Macondo Spill Claims	May 03
Helix Adds Beefed-up Capping Stack	May 03
BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Development at OTC	May 02
Offshore Regulators Will Extend Their Reach: Service Providers, Others Fall Under Federal Oversight	May 02
JIT Publishes Addendum to Det Norske Veritas BOP Report	May 02
GOP Governors Call for More State Input on Drilling	May 02
BOEMRE to Hire Regional Leadership for New Bureau	April 27
Transcripts Available from Joint Investigation of DWH BOP	April 26
Environmental Groups File Suits to Rescind Permits	April 26
Coast Guard Investigative Report on Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Fire, Sinking Blasts Rig Owner Transocean	April 22
BP Sues Transocean and Halliburton	April 21
Transocean Files Claims Against BP, Others Related To Gulf Spill	April 21
BP Sues Maker of Blowout Preventer	April 20
Statement by Secretary Salazar Marking One-Year Anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	April 20
BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of Offshore Oil and Gas Development at Gulf Oil Spill Series	April 19
BOEMRE Completes Draft Supplemental EIS for Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale	April 19
Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee Sets Goals, Agenda	April 18
US Oil Spill Containment Firms May Work Together-BP	April 18
House Committee Acts To Stop President's de facto Drilling Moratorium	April 17
INTERVIEW-Obama's Oil Spill Chief Reflects a Year Later	April 16
Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to Hold First Meeting	April 15
Oil Spill Containment System Ready to Roll in the Gulf	April 15
Ministerial Forum Seeks Global Solutions to Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containing Blowouts	April 14
Offshore Ministerial Forum Emphasizes Prompt Response to Spills	April 14
Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Group Gives Mixed Report Card for Wildlife	April 13
Salazar, Bromwich Visit Rig, Encouraged by Change in Drilling Culture	April 13
Gulf's Complexity and Resilience Seen in Studies of Oil Spill	April 12
Officials Consider Expanding Offshore Regulation, Oversight Beyond Well Leaseholders	April 12
Ocean Energy Bureau Gets Rare Spending Boost in Budget Deal	April 12
BOEMRE Announces New Key Positions to Further Regulatory Reform	April 08
BOEMRE Approves Operations for Tenth Deepwater Well	April 08
Bromwich: Permitting Shouldn't Wait for BOP Improvements	April 08
ATP Gains Second Deepwater Permit from BOEMRE	April 08
Blowout Preventer Manufacturer Questions Deepwater Horizon Forensic Report	April 08
Judge who Scrapped Offshore Ban Rules Feds have ‘Broad Authority' on Drilling	April 07
BOEMRE Approves Operations for Ninth Deepwater Well	April 07
BOP was Overdue for Maintenance	April 06
US Republicans Target May For Vote On Bills Requiring Oil And Gas Leases	April 06
Transocean's Work Schedule Change Questioned by Lawmakers	April 05
BP Denies it Has Liability Under Both Oil Pollution and Clean Water Acts	April 05
Interior Department to Seek Continual Improvements in BOPs	April 05
BOP Investigator Admits to Fault in Model Used in Forensic Examination	April 04
BOEM Denies BP Deal	April 04
Chu says Drilling Safety in Gulf ‘Going in the Right Direction'	April 01
BOEMRE Calls for Public Comment to Inform New Deepwater Environmental Assessment	March 31
Transocean Employees Resisting Oil Spill Inquiry	March 31
BOEMRE Approves Deepwater Drilling Permit for New Well included in First Approved Exploration Plan	March 30
BP Managers Said to Face U.S. Manslaughter Charges Review	March 29
Coast Guard Quietly Releases Report on Review of its BP Gulf Oil Spill 2010 Response	March 29
Salazar to Host Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment	March 29
BOEMRE to Aggressively Recruit Environmental Scientists	March 29
The Natural Resources Restoration Act of 2011	March 29
BOEMRE Issues Guidance for Offshore Deepwater Drillers to Comply with Safety and Containment Requirements	March 28
Government releases DNV's findings on Deepwater Horizon BOP	March 23
BOEMRE Director Highlights Role of Environmental Reviews, Announces Science Recruitment Tour at ITM	March 22
BOEMRE Approves Additional Deepwater Drilling Permit that Meets New Safety Standards	March 22
BOEMRE / USCG to Conduct 7th Session of Deepwater Horizon Investigation to Focus on BOP	March 22
Interior Approves First Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Exploration Plan with Post-Deepwater Horizon Environmental Review	March 21
Court Removes Offshore Permit Deadline for Government	March 16
US Issues Second Post-Spill Drill Permit in Gulf	March 12
Salazar Names Members of Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to Guide Oil and Gas Regulatory Program Reform	March 11
Scientific Teams Complete Peer-Reviewed Assessment of Oil Flow Rate Methodologies	March 11
U.S. Appeals for Delay in 30-Day Order on Drill Permits	March 10
Oil Well Device May Have Been Flawed	March 07
Legislature Creates Oil Spill Oversight Committee	March 04
Interior Department Says it Will Comply with Judge Feldman's Latest Permitting Ruling	March 02
BOEMRE Approves First Deepwater Drilling Permit To Meet Important New Safety Standards in Gulf of Mexico	February 28
Latecomer to Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup says it now has the Answer in any Future Disasters	February 27
Federal Natural Resource Trustees Announce Next Step in BP Deepwater Horizon Spill Gulf Restoration	February 19
Judge Orders BOEMRE to Act on ENSCO Drilling Permits	February 18
Oil Companies Complete Spill Containment System	February 17
Oil Spill Commission's Chief Counsel's Report Released	February 17
President's FY 2012 Budget Includes $358.4 Million for BOEMRE Reorganization, Reforms and New Fees for Drillers	February 14
Baker Institute Offshore Energy Forum - Live Webcast	February 11
Obama Administration Might Oppose Independent Offshore Oil Safety Agency, According to Draft Memo	February 10
Interior Official Says Industry is Making Progress in Preparation for Oil Well Blowouts	February 09
BOEMRE Begins Environmental Reviews for Proposed 2012-2017 Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales	February 08
Oil Spill Commission Releases Two Staff Working Papers	February 08
Feds Want Plan for Collaring Oil Spills	February 05
Judge Holds Interior in Contempt Over Drilling Ban	February 03
BP Joins Marine Well Containment Company	February 03
Oil Execs Developing Agency to Supervise Drilling Safety	January 31
DOJ says BOP and Cement Testing Still Under Way	January 31
BOEMRE Calls for Public Comment to Inform Deepwater Environmental Assessment	January 28
Shell Application for Deepwater Exploration Takes Step Forward	January 28
Study Released on Fate Of Dispersants In Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	January 27
Century Exploration Sues U.S. Over Drill Ban Changes	January 25
Salazar, Bromwich Announce Next Steps in Overhaul of Offshore Energy Oversight and Management	January 19
BOEMRE Director Discusses Responsible Stewardship of U.S. Offshore Energy Development at the National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment	January 19
Landrieu Oil-Spill Liability Bill May Force All Companies to Pay	January 19
Oil Industry Blasts Spill Commission Report	January 13
BOEMRE Director Discusses Strengthened Oversight at Gulf Oil Spill Series	January 13
Spill Commission to Release Final Report - Live Stream Available	January 11
Regulatory Reform and Safety Measures Recommended in Final Oil Spill Commission Report	January 11
Oil Spill Commission to Release Report on "Complacency", Hold Public Forum	January 05
BOEMRE Provides Additional Clarity for Certain Activities Suspended under the Deepwater Moratorium	January 03
Rig Owner Refuses to Honor Oil Spill Subpoenas	December 29
BP's Spill Costs Look Manageable 8 Months Later	December 29
Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf	December 23
Gulf Oil Spill Probe May Have Been Compromised	December 22
Insurers Team Up in Bid to Boost Deep-Water Coverage	December 21
Transocean Ordered to Release Safety Records	December 17
Federal Panel Criticizes BP and Oil Industry Over Safety Programs	December 16
Transocean Rejects Responsibility In Oil Spill	December 16
Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Civil Lawsuit Regarding Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	December 15
Chemical Safety Board Begins Deepwater Horizon Investigation	December 15
BOEMRE Issues Guidance for Deepwater Drillers to Comply with Strengthened Safety and Environmental Standards	December 13
BOEMRE Director Makes Case for Regulatory Reform at Oil and Gas Law Conference	December 08
Salazar: IG Report Affirms Direction, Urgency of Interior's Offshore Energy Oversight Reform Agenda	December 07
Salazar Announces Revised OCS Leasing Program	December 01
DOJ Sues Transocean for Safety and Training Documents	November 26
Council on Environmental Quality Issues Guidance to Help Ensure Integrity of NEPA	November 23
Salazar, Bromwich Encouraged by Progress of Operators to Comply with Higher Offshore Oil and Gas Standards	November 22
New Oil Spill Commission Working Papers Released: Containing the Spill and Response Technology R&D	November 22
Secretary Salazar's and Director Bromwich's Statements on NAE-NRC's Interim Report on the Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	November 17
National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council Interim Report Released	November 16
Spill Panel Says Rig Culture Failed on Safety	November 10
BOEMRE Releases NOI for Environmental Impact Statement for Lease Sales	November 10
Spill Commission Finds List of Errors in Public Hearing	November 09
BOEMRE Director Testifies Before the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	November 09
Statement of Compliance with Applicable Regulations and Evaluation of Information Demonstrating Adequate Spill Response and Well Containment Resources	November 08
BOEMRE Continues Environmental Reviews in Gulf of Mexico	November 04
Bromwich Blog: Criticizing the Inspectors	November 03
BOEMRE Leads Study of Deepwater Communities Post-Deepwater Horizon Spill	October 28
Drilling rig inspectors had vast gaps in knowledge, oil spill panel finds	October 26
Meeting: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	October 22
Government-Industry Meeting on Containment and Deepwater Drilling	October 22
Deep-Water Safety Rules Thrown Out by Federal Judge	October 19
Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Safety and Environmental Management Systems; Final Rule	October 15
Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf; Final Rule	October 14
Salazar: Deepwater Drilling May Resume for Operators Who Clear Higher Bar for Safety, Environmental Protection	October 12
Discharge of Oil From Deepwater Horizon/Macondo Well, Gulf of Mexico; Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning	October 01
Salazar Announces Regulations to Strengthen Drilling Safety, Reduce Risk of Human Error on Offshore Oil and Gas Operations	September 30
Secretary Salazar Outlines Vision for a Safe, Secure, Clean Energy Future at the Woodrow Wilson Center	September 30
Meeting: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	September 29
Resource Restoration Planning Process Begins for BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill	September 29
Meeting: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	September 29
A Director's Forum with Ken Salazar, Toward a Safe, Secure, and Clean Energy Future	September 28
Secretary Salazar Testifies on Reform, Response and Recovery Efforts for Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill	September 27
FY 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Supplemental Federal Funding Opportunity	September 23
Open Meeting: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	September 16
Publicly Available API Exploratory & Production Safety Standards	September 15
BOEMRE Hosts International Regulators Forum Special Meeting	September 13
BP Releases Report on Deepwater Horizon Incident	September 08
Salazar: OCS Safety Board Report a “Blueprint” for Next Steps on Internal Reforms of Offshore Energy Oversight	September 08
Worst-Case Discharge Workshop	September 03
NTL N05 Checklist	September 03
Readout From BOEMRE Director Bromwich's Meeting with BP Senior Executives	September 02
Director Bromwich to Host Forums in Texas and Mississippi to Discuss Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containment and Spill Response	August 31
Bipartisan Policy Center (Lifting the Moratorium)	August 25
BOEM Points of Contact for Shallow Water Permitting and Plans	August 24
BOEM Announces Misconduct Reporting Hotline	August 18
Categorical Exclusions for Gulf Offshore Activity to be Limited While Interior Reviews NEPA Process and Develops Revised Policy	August 16
Report Regarding the MMS's NEPA Policies, Practices, and Procedures	August 16
National Academy of Engineering Technical Investigation	August 12
State of Texas Challenges Federal Government's Offshore Drilling Moratorium	August 11
BOEMRE Issues 3rd Update to FAQ for NTL 2010-N06	August 10
Director Bromwich to Kick off Forum Series to Discuss Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containment and Spill Response	August 02
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE); Cancellation of Oil and Gas Lease Sale 215 in the Western Planning Area (WPA) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM)	July 28
Commission Requests Details on Resumption of Drilling Activities	July 27
Secretary Salazar, Director Bromwich Testify on Progress of Interior's Offshore Energy Reforms	July 22
BOEMRE Issues Additional Updates to FAQ for NTL 2010-N06	July 21
Bromwich to Host Public Meetings Nationwide to Discuss Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containment and Spill Response	July 19
Obama Administration Announces Final Recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force	July 19
Director Bromwich Discusses Offshore Drilling Reforms with Industry and Conservation Stakeholders	July 16
BOEMRE Issues Updated FAQs for NTL No. 2010-N06	July 15
BP Liable for Reporting and Royalties on Oil and Gas from Leaking Well	July 15
Secretary Salazar Issues New Suspensions to Guide Safe Pause on Deepwater Drilling	July 12
BOEMRE Issues Updated FAQ Regarding NTL 2010-N05	July 09
Temporary Suspension of USCG / EPA Requirements to Increase Cleanup Resources	June 30
Open Meeting: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	June 30
BOEMRE ITL: FAQ Regarding NTL 2010-N06	June 26
BOEMRE ITL: FAQ Regarding NTL 2010-N05	June 26
Secretarial Memo to DOI employees prohibiting enforcement of Drilling Moratorium	June 25
Investigative / Compliance Team Launched for Bureau of Ocean Energy	June 24
Judge Blocks Offshore Drilling Moratorium	June 21
Salazar Swears-In Michael R. Bromwich to Lead Bureau of Ocean Energy	June 21
MMS NTL 2010-N06: Additional Information Requirements for EPs, DPPs and DOCDs	June 18
Secretary Salazar Appoints Michael R. Bromwich to Lead Reforms at MMS	June 15
MMS NTL 2010-N05: New Safety Rules	June 08
Attorney General Announces Criminal Investigation of Incident	June 01
MMS NTL 2010-N04: Drilling Moratorium	May 30
BLM Director to Serve as Acting Director of the MMS	May 28
Salazar Calls for New Safety Measures, Orders Six Month Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling	May 27
DOI Issues 30-Day Safety Report	May 27
Joint Industry Task Force Drafts Recommendations to Address Offshore Operating Procedures and Equipment	May 22
Executive Order - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling	May 22
DOI Secretarial Order for Restructuring and MMS Oversight	May 19
Review of MMS NEPA Policies, Practices, and Procedures for OCS Oil and Gas Exploration and Development	May 17
Federal Register Notice - Review of MMS NEPA Policies, Practices, and Procedures for OCS Oil and Gas Exploration and Development	May 17
Restructure of MMS	May 13
Raising the Liability Caps	May 12
BP, Transocean and Halliburton Give Congressional Testimony	May 11
Louisiana Issues Orders in Response to Incident	May 11
Exploration Plan Timeline	May 11
Additional Resources for Federal Inspectors	May 11
MMS ITL: Handling Oiled Wildlife	May 10
Application for Permit to Drill Approvals	May 07
Obama Orders 30-Day Review of Incident	April 30
Secretarial Order 3298 - OCS Oversight Board	April 30
MMS Safety Notice	April 30
MMS ITL: Reporting Evacuations and Shut-Ins	April 30
Incident Declared “Spill of National Significance”	April 30
Safety Alert on the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Fire Resulting in Multiple Fatalities and Release of Oil	April 30
Deepwater Operations Inspections	April 27
Joint Investigation	April 21

Date	Regulatory Action
November 09, 2011 Return to the top	Coast Guard Approves Winding Down BP Spill Cleanup BP will no longer be responsible for cleaning up oil that washes up on the Gulf Coast unless officials can prove it comes from the company's well that blew out in 2010, causing the worst offshore spill in U.S. history, according to a plan approved by the Coast Guard and obtained by The Associated Press. The plan marks the near end of the cleanup phase of the oil spill, according to the Nov. 2 agreement obtained by the AP on Tuesday. Now, BP will turn its attention to restoring areas damaged by the spill that began on April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers. About $1 billion has been set aside for those projects, an official says. About 90 percent of the Gulf coast has been deemed clean, according to officials. The plan spells out protocol for when an area still needs to be cleaned and when BP's responsibility for that ends. Louisiana officials wouldn't give their approval because they were concerned about what they perceived as a lack of long-term monitoring in the document. They also complained that the Coast Guard gave them only five days to review the plan, according to a letter sent to the agency by Garret Graves, a top aide to Gov. Bobby Jindal for coastal affairs. That concern was echoed by Ralph Portier, an oil spill cleanup expert with Louisiana State University. "If we have learned anything from Valdez and Ixtoc, there needs to be an awareness for long-term monitoring," Portier said. He was referring to the Exxon-Valdez tanker spill in 1989 in Alaska and the 1979 Ixtoc oil rig spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He said the Coast Guard should have a plan to respond to problems that may arise. On Florida's Panhandle, some people reacted with skepticism. Kenneth Collins, who rents fishing poles to tourists and spends his days with local fishermen at the Pensacola Beach pier, said he doesn't think the effects of the spill are over. Despite the concerns, the Coast Guard said its finalized plan would apply to Louisiana and all the Gulf states. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Coast-Guard-OKs-winding-down-BP-spill-cleanup-2259897.php
October 26, 2011 Return to the top	BSEE Approves First BP Drilling Permit to Meet Enhanced Regulations The BSEE today approved a drilling permit, originally submitted by BP in January 2011, for a new well in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. This is BP's first drilling permit approved since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill to meet the bureau's enhanced safety requirements and standards established following the tragedy. The application is under a supplemental exploration plan that was approved last week following a site-specific environmental assessment by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. “BP has met all of the enhanced safety requirements that we have implemented and applied consistently over the past year. In addition, BP has adhered to voluntary standards that go beyond the agency's regulatory requirements,” said BSEE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “This permit was approved only after thorough well design, blowout preventer, and containment capability reviews.” The proposed exploratory well is part of BP's Kaskida prospect located in the Gulf's Keathley Canyon map area approximately 246 miles south of Lafayette, LA in 6,034 feet water depth. In addition to meeting the bureau's rigorous standards, BSEE verified that BP has met the additional standards it volunteered to adhere to in July 2011. These voluntary standards include: the use of blind shear rams and a casing shear ram on subsea blowout preventers (BOPs); third party verification of BOP testing and maintenance; and laboratory testing of cement slurries. As part of its approval process, BSEE reviewed BP's containment capability available for the specific well proposed in the permit application. BP has contracted with the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) to use its capping stack to stop the flow of oil, should a blowout occur. The capabilities of the capping stack meet the requirements established by the specific characteristics of the proposed well. Since an applicant first successfully demonstrated containment capabilities in mid-February 2011, BSEE has approved 165 permits for 46 unique deepwater wells requiring subsea containment as of this morning. For more information on new applicable regulations and standards for deepwater drilling operations, go to: http://www.bsee.gov/About-BSEE/reforms/reforms.aspx. http://www.bsee.gov/BSEE-Newsroom/Press-Releases/2011/BSEE-Approves-First-BP-Drilling-Permit-to-Meet-Enhanced-Regulations.aspx
October 21, 2011 Return to the top	BOEM Approves First BP Exploration Plan to Meet New Standards The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved a supplemental Exploration Plan (EP) submitted by BP for deepwater oil and gas activities. BOEM conducted a site-specific Environmental Assessment (EA) of the activities described in the plan. This is the 44th plan that has been approved following the completion of a site-specific EA since stronger regulations were implemented in June 2010. Prior to any drilling under the plan, BP must obtain drilling permits from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which will continue to assess the information that is necessary to allow specific activities. This is the first EP that BP has had approved since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. Before approving this EP, BOEM confirmed BP's compliance with the bureau's rigorous, heightened standards established following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. In July 2011, BP announced additional safety enhancements and performance standards they would voluntarily implement in connection with its deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM has verified that BP has met the relevant voluntary performance standards. The supplemental EP proposes to drill up to four wells in the Gulf of Mexico's Keathley Canyon Blocks 292 and 336, which BP acquired in lease sales in 1997 and 2003. An EP describes all exploration activities planned by an operator on a specific lease or leases, including the anticipated timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and other relevant information. The water depth at the proposed well sites range from 6,019 to 6,034 ft and are located 192 miles from the nearest Louisiana shoreline. http://www.boem.gov/BOEM-Newsroom/Press-Releases/2011/press1021a.aspx
October 17, 2011 Return to the top	Anadarko Settles Spill Claims with BP for $4 Billion Anadarko Petroleum said it will pay BP $4 billion to settle claims related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf oil spill. In exchange BP will release its claims against Anadarko for about $6.1 billion of spill related costs to date, as well as to forgo reimbursement for any future costs. BP also fully indemnifies Anadarko for damage claims arising under the Oil Pollution Act, claims for natural resource damages and associated damage-assessment costs, and any claims arising under the relevant Joint Operating Agreement. Anadarko also will transfer its 25-percent stake in Mississippi Canyon block 252, site of the Macondo well, to BP. “Though the agreement does not provide indemnification against fines and penalties, punitive damages or certain other potential claims, we do not consider these items to represent a significant financial risk to Anadarko,” said Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said. “This confidence stems from recent court decisions that released Anadarko from punitive damages and personal injury claims, combined with the findings of various investigations that have confirmed the company had no direct involvement in the drilling of the Macondo well.” http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/10/17/anadarko-settles-spill-claims-with-bp-for-4-billion/
October 14, 2011 Return to the top	U.S. Allowing BP to Bid on Leases in the Gulf After an internal debate, the Obama administration announced on Thursday that BP would be allowed to bid on new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Michael Bromwich, the head of the new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, disclosed the decision at a House committee hearing. The committee was reviewing the findings of a government investigation into the BP disaster. “The question is, ‘Do you administer the administrative death penalty based on one incident?' ” Mr. Bromwich told reporters after the hearing. “And we've concluded that's not appropriate.” Mr. Bromwich told the House committee that his agency had “thought about this issue quite a lot” before deciding to let BP participate in the first scheduled auction of offshore leases since the accident. Two million deepwater acres will be opened for exploration and drilling in the western gulf. At the House hearing, Raymond Dempsey Jr., a vice president of BP America, said, “We believe that we have the necessary systems and capabilities in place to continue to enhance the safety of deepwater drilling.” But the Obama administration's decision to let BP bid for leases was sharply criticized by environmentalists. “We think it's too soon to let BP back in there,” said Athan Manuel, director of lands protection at the Sierra Club. “These guys shouldn't have the benefit of the doubt anymore.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/business/energy-environment/us-allowing-bp-to-bid-on-oil-leases-in-gulf-of-mexico.html?_r=3&src=tp
October 12, 2011 Return to the top	Feds Kick Off Oil Spill Sanctions Against BP, Transocean & Halliburton The federal government today kicked off the process of fining BP, Transocean and Halliburton for violating offshore drilling rules tied to the 2011 oil spill. The companies could be forced to pay as much as $45.7 million for 15 separate violations of those rules, which range from failing to keep BP's Macondo well under control to working unsafely at the site. The Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement launched the process by sending the three firms formal “incidents of non-compliance.” The documents lay out the violations but do not specify how long they occurred — a major factor in calculating the final penalty. The foundation for the fines was built in September, when a Coast Guard and Interior Department investigation concluded that failures by all three companies led to the blowout of the Macondo well, killing 11 workers and unleashing the nation's worst oil spill. The bureau's sanctions are separate from fines and other penalties that are expected to be imposed under the Clean Water Act, which could reach to $21 billion for BP, based on estimates that the Macondo well gushed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The government is accusing BP of violating seven regulations governing work on the outer continental shelf. Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and Halliburton, which performed cementing work at the site, are each charged with four violations. The violations carry a penalty of up to $35,000 per day per incident. In the case of the oil spill, violations may have covered 87 days — the time crude was gushing into the Gulf — creating a maximum potential tab per incident of $3.05 million. But some infractions may cover just one day, with a total cost of just $35,000. The action marks the first time the government has moved to sanction contractors for violating offshore regulations. Traditionally, the government agencies that oversee offshore drilling have focused on oil and gas companies operating in coastal waters, and not the contractors and service companies that may collaborate on projects. But under Bromwich, the agency has concluded that its regulatory reach extends to drilling rig owners, service firms and other contractors that work for the operators. Bromwich said that determination was affirmed by a legal interpretation made by Interior Department's solicitor. BP said the Obama administration's decision to seek penalties against Transocean and Halliburton “makes clear that contractors, like operators, are responsible for properly conducting their deep-water drilling activities and are accountable to the U.S. government and the American public for their conduct.” Executives from all three companies are set to testify before the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday. It will be the first time the firms have testified on Capitol Hill since the Coast Guard and Interior Department's report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster was issued last month. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/10/12/feds-kick-off-oil-spill-sanctions-against-bp-transocean-halliburton/
October 06, 2011 Return to the top	Gulf Coast Lawmakers Reach Compromise on BP Oil-spill Fine Money WASHINGTON -- After months of negotiations, Gulf Coast lawmakers reached a compromise and introduced a bill in the House Wednesday that would steer most of the fines collected from the BP oil spill to the region for recovery efforts. The Restore Act would send 80 percent of the fines collected from BP for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to the Gulf for restoration efforts. Lawmakers estimate the fines could total $5 billion to $20 billion. The funds would be shared by Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Without the legislation, the fine money would go into a trust fund for future oil spills and to the U.S. Treasury. Last month, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a similar measure introduced by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. The bill would divide some of the money among the five states to restore their coastlines and coastal communities. Funding also would go to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to craft a comprehensive environmental recovery effort. Other funding would go to the states based on a formula that considers state needs and damage caused by the spill. About 5 percent would go to the National Endowment for the Oceans for research, including the effects of the spill. Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., said he would urge House Republican leaders to bring the measure to the floor for a vote. Lawmakers acknowledge they still have to garner support from lawmakers from other parts of the country. They said they are optimistic others feel their pain. Lawmakers had introduced at least five bills that attempted to decide that question, some of which would have pit states against each other. http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20111006/NEWS02/110060336/Gulf-Coast-lawmakers-reach-compromise-BP-oil-spill-fine-money?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFrontpage%7Cs
September 22, 2011 Return to the top	Bill Aimed at Restoring Gulf Goes to Full Senate A bill that calls for 80 percent of BP penalties to go toward restoring the Gulf of Mexico has moved onto the full U.S. Senate. On Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the bill, called the Restore Act. Next, it goes to the full Senate for a vote. Under the bill, a restoration plan would have to be drawn up and a special council set up to oversee restoration. The bill also calls for money to be set aside for long-term studies of the Gulf. The bill has been pushed by Gulf Coast senators and backed by environmental groups. The BP spill occurred after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana, leading to the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Environment and Public Works Committee member U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said the bill's move to the full Senate was a “huge step” for the Gulf Coast's recovery from the spill. Brian McPeek, the chief operating officer of The Nature Conservancy, said passing the bill would help “repair the longstanding environmental damage to the Gulf.” Unless Congress passes the bill, McPeek said the fines from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could be spent anywhere. Under the Clean Water Act, the federal government can collect $1,100 for each barrel of oil spilled. However, if the spill was found to be caused by negligence the fines can go up to as much as $4,300 for each barrel spilled. Under these scenarios, BP faces paying fines between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/09/22/bill-aimed-at-restoring-gulf-goes-to-full-senate/
September 14, 2011 Return to the top	Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation Team Releases Final Report The BOEMRE/U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team (JIT) today released its final investigative report on the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill. The report is comprised of Volume I, covering the areas of investigation under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard; Volume II, covering the areas of the investigation under BOEMRE jurisdiction; and a supplement to Volume I – the Final Action Memo from Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp. The JIT was formed on April 27, 2010, by a convening order of the Departments of the Interior and Homeland Security to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill, and to make recommendations for safe operations of future oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The JIT held seven sessions of public hearings, received testimony from more than 80 witnesses and experts, and reviewed a large number of documents and exhibits pertaining to all aspects of the investigation. Volume I, released April 22, 2011, includes findings on five aspects of the disaster under Coast Guard jurisdiction – including the explosions on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon; the resulting fire; evacuations; the flooding and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon; and the safety systems of the MODU and its owner, Transocean. The Coast Guard's Final Action Memo details actions directed by Adm. Papp, as a result of the JIT's work, reflecting the Coast Guard's commitment to all of those affected by this tragic yet historic event and underscoring its commitment to the stewardship of our maritime environment. Volume II includes findings on the causes, both direct and contributing, of the Macondo blowout and the resulting explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon. In Volume II, the JIT details evidence developed during the investigation and concludes that BP, Transocean and Halliburton's conduct in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations under BOEMRE's jurisdiction. Volume II also includes recommendations for the continued improvement of the safety of offshore operations. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BOEMRE launched the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability. An additional rule, which will be made available for public comment in the coming weeks, will incorporate additional safety requirements that are related to the findings of the investigation. For more information on BOEMRE's new heightened safety standards, go to: http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm. Please see the website listed above to download each section of the report. http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com/go/doc/3043/1193483/
September 13, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar, Bromwich Announce Proposed Rule to Further Strengthen Offshore Workplace Safety Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich today announced a proposed rule that will reduce the likelihood of accidents, injuries and spills in connection with oil and natural gas exploration and development activities, as the Department continues to expand safe and responsible domestic oil and gas development on the U.S. OCS. The proposed Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) rule is part of a series of safety and environmental reforms implemented by the Department of the Interior since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The proposed rule, which enhances the Workplace Safety Rule issued in October 2010, will add greater protection by supplementing operators' SEMS programs with employee training, engaging personnel in safety management, and strengthening auditing procedures by requiring them to be completed by independent third parties. A SEMS program is a comprehensive safety and environmental management program designed to reduce human and organizational errors that have been found to be the contributing or root cause of work-related accidents and offshore oil spills. SEMS programs apply to all oil and natural gas activities and facilities on the OCS including drilling, production, construction, well workover, well completion, well servicing, lifting activities and Department of the Interior (DOI) pipeline activities. In meetings with oil and gas operators, executives have expressed optimism regarding the implementation of the Workplace Safety Rule, which goes into effect in November 2011. These supplemental requirements, introduced today with an opportunity for significant public comment, enhance the rule with six additional items that operators should include in their comprehensive safety and environmental management programs: •Additional requirements for conducting a Job Safety Analysis; •Procedures to authorize any and all employees on the facility to implement a Stop Work Authority when witnessing an activity that creates a threat of danger to an individual, property and/or the environment; •Clearly defined requirements establishing who has the ultimate work authority on the facility for operational safety and decision making at any given time; •An employee participation program for SEMS implementation; •Guidelines for reporting unsafe work conditions; and •A requirement that safety audits be conducted by third part auditors. Additional information on the proposed rule can be found at the website above and will be published in its entirety on JCCRegs tomorrow. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Bromwich-Announce-Proposed-Rule-to-Further-Strengthen-Workplace-Safety-in-Offshore-Oil-and-Gas-Operations.cfm
September 13, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Delivers Final Speech Before Agency Reorganization BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered remarks today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Energy and National Security Program. Director Bromwich detailed the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service and the creation of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on October 1, 2011. Director Bromwich discussed the tremendous work of the bureau to reform the federal offshore energy regulatory structure while at the same time continuing to fulfill its responsibility to oversee the safe and environmentally responsible development of the nation's offshore energy resources. Director Bromwich's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available via the website listed above. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0913.htm
September 09, 2011 Return to the top	New Offshore Drilling Rules Hinge on Deepwater Horizon Probe The government is about to kick-start a long process for setting new offshore drilling safety standards — but only after a joint federal investigation into the Deepwater Horizon disaster is complete, a top Obama administration official told the Houston Chronicle. At issue is the joint Coast Guard and Interior Department probe of the oil spill. Although the joint investigation team held its final public hearings in April, the panel has not yet issued its conclusions about the root causes of the disaster. That final report is set to be released “in the very near future,” said Michael Bromwich, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The document is expected to identify failures at BP's doomed Macondo well that may have contributed to its lethal blowout on April 20 last year and the resulting oil spill. The panel's report may provide the foundation for bolstering mandates on the blowout preventers used as a last line of defense against unexpected surges of oil and gas at wells. The joint investigation team's conclusions about well design also could spur regulatory changes. “Even though it is going to be a very broad rulemaking process and there will be plenty of time to get input, we thought we would be better served by seeing where the JIT came out on a variety of issues before we (began),” Bromwich said. “We have quite explicitly been waiting for the conclusion of the JIT process and the release of the JIT report before we go out with the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking.” That advanced notice will kick off a long process of creating the new drilling safety regulation. Bromwich has stressed that the slower timetable will allow more people to weigh in on the measure's content. Although the ocean energy bureau director declined to give a specific time frame, he said he anticipated the rulemaking would begin “reasonably soon after the issuance of the report.” Bromwich has previously said the rule will be “focused on all dimensions of drilling safety.” It almost certainly will include proposed new standards for blowout preventers, the design of offshore wells and cement barriers at the sites. The measure also is likely to make adjustments to a drilling safety rule that was imposed last October. The ocean energy bureau has clarified some requirements of that rule already, in response to oil and gas companies that complained it set some confusing and conflicting standards. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/09/09/new-offshore-drilling-rules-hinge-on-deepwater-horizon-probe/
September 09, 2011 Return to the top	Marine Well Containment Company's First Non-Member Receives Permit Approval Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today that Petrobras America Inc. (PAI) is the first non-member to have cited MWCC's system to receive an approved drilling permit. PAI contracts with MWCC for the right to cite the MWCC system in its permit application to the BOEMRE for a deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The agency approved the PAI application on September 2 to drill a development well at its Cascade field approximately 180 miles south of the Louisiana coast in water depth of 8,200 feet. “MWCC is a not-for-profit, independent organization available to all deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico operators,” said Chief Executive Officer Marty Massey. “Even if an operator is not a member of MWCC, our system can be made available on a well by well basis and cited in respective applications for permits to drill.” The MWCC member companies include Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Apache, Anadarko, BHP Billiton, Statoil and Hess. These 10 companies operated approximately 70 percent of deepwater wells drilled in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico between 2007 through 2009. All MWCC members have equal ownership, with each paying a proportional share of the system development and operating costs. System equipment and services are available to members and can be made available to non-members for use in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. An expanded containment system is on track for delivery in 2012. In addition to operating in water depths up to 10,000 feet, the system will have the capacity to capture up to 100,000 barrels of fluid and handle up to 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. More information about MWCC is available at http://www.marinewellcontainment.com. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110907006917/en/Marine-Containment-Company%E2%80%99s-Non-Member-Receives-Permit-Approval
September 01, 2011 Return to the top	BP Funds Texas Researchers For Gulf Oil Spill Study Two Texas groups are among the first to receive grants from BP's Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to study how last year's massive oil spill impacted the environment and to develop methods to better respond to future spills. The board awarded a total $112.5 million to eight research teams, including one from the University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute and another from Texas A&M University at College Station. Information from the research will be used to restore the Gulf of Mexico and improve its long-term health, according to GRI Board Chairman Rita R. Colwell. “The results will illuminate the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, and enable appropriate responses should there be future releases not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but anywhere that oil and gas is produced in ocean environments,” Cowell said in a written statement. “The long term contribution of this research will be of major benefit to industry, governments, and the people who live along the Gulf of Mexico coast.” The awarded projects investigate the impact of oil and other substances that leaked during the spill on the marine environment and coastal communities. The Texas A&M group is studying oil spill response and the UT Austin team will study its impact. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/08/31/bp-funds-texas-researchers-for-gulf-oil-spill-study/
August 17, 2011 Return to the top	Gulf Spill Report by Marshall Islands Steers Clear of Blame The crew of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig failed to react to “multiple indications” of problems with BP's Macondo well before it blew out, but divergence from industry standards and plans approved by regulators also played a role in the accident, according to a new investigation report. The report, by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, under whose flag the Deepwater Horizon sailed, also recommends changes to procedures for activating emergency well-disconnecting systems and maintaining giant well-sealing blowout preventers on the sea floor. But, unlike previous investigation reports, it does not attempt to assign blame to BP or other companies involved in the accident. “We were just trying to go through the findings of fact,” Bill Gallagher, senior deputy commissioner of maritime affairs for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, said in an interview Tuesday ahead of the release of the 216-page report today. “We're not into getting into naming and blaming at this point in time.” The Deepwater Horizon, owned by Switzerland-based Transocean, which has large offices in Houston, is one of many deep water drilling rigs that carry the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As such, the island nation in the Pacific Ocean was responsible for overseeing the safety and integrity of the vessel. U.S. Interior Department regulators had separate oversight of drilling equipment aboard the rig. An April investigation report by a joint Coast Guard-Interior Department panel blasted the Marshall Islands for “ineffective oversight” of the Deepwater Horizon because it delegated rig inspection activities to third parties. But Gallagher said lax oversight, either by the Marshall Islands or U.S. regulators, was not a factor. “You've had a lot of regulators on board giving the actual thumbs up as far as the rig was concerned with no deficiencies pointed out,” he said. In an executive summary of the report, obtained by the Chronicle on Tuesday, the Marshall Islands identifies just three direct causes of the accident — the crew's failure to detect well control problems; deviation from standards of well control engineering; and deviation from well abandonment plans approved by the former Minerals Management Service. The summary also cites “non-causal” factors including confusion about the chain of command aboard the vessel, especially regarding who had decision-making authority at the time of the accident. And it called for better communication between the flag state and the regulatory bodies in the country where the rig operates. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/08/17/gulf-spill-report-steers-clear-of-blame/
August 15, 2011 Return to the top	108,000 Oil-Spill Plaintiffs Get a Trial Date With BP Trial for the Deepwater Horizon explosion will begin Feb. 27, 2012 and will be broken into three phases, the judge overseeing the consolidated oil-spill litigation said. There are 108,000 plaintiffs in the litigation so far. During the monthly status conference Friday, U.S. Judge Carl J. Barbier said he has not yet issued a formal trial plan, but it "is essentially going to be the proposed trial plan that Anadarko submitted a while back," which breaks the trial into three phases. The "incident phase" of the trial will begin Feb. 27, and will deal with the conduct of various parties relating to control of the Macondo well, and the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform. Followed by a break, phase two will deal with issues of source control and quantification of discharge. Phase three will address all other issues, including containment, skimming, dispersants and boom. As the "responsible party," the way BP handles its claims process is governed by the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), which was created after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska. The Oil Pollution Act states that a claimant must first present to the claims facility established by the responsible party and that 90 days must pass without word from the responsible party or the claim must be rejected before a claimant may litigate. BP attorneys told the court in May that every litigant who did not first present to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) would be disqualified from the litigation. The next status hearing is set for Sept. 16. http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/08/15/38980.htm
August 01, 2011 Return to the top	WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates In the first published study to explain the role of microbes in breaking down the oil slick on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon spill, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers have come up with answers that represent both good news and a mystery. The WHOI team studied samples from the surface oil slick and surrounding Gulf waters. They found that bacterial microbes inside the slick degraded the oil at a rate five times faster than microbes outside the slick—accounting in large part for the disappearance of the slick some three weeks after Deepwater Horizon's Macondo well was shut off. At the same time, the researchers observed no increase in the number of microbes inside the slick—something that would be expected as a byproduct of increased consumption, or respiration, of the oil. In this process, respiration combines food (oil in this case) and oxygen to create carbon dioxide and energy. “What did they do with the energy they gained from this increased respiration?” asked WHOI chemist Benjamin Van Mooy, senior author of the study. “They didn't use it to multiply. It's a real mystery,” he said. Van Mooy and his team were nearly equally taken aback by the ability of the microbes to chow down on the oil in the first place. Going into the study, he said, “We thought microbe respiration was going to be minimal.” This was because nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus—usually essential to enable microbes to grow and make new cells—were scarce in the water and oil in the slick. “We thought the microbes would not be able to respond,” Van Mooy said. But the WHOI researchers found, to the contrary, that the bacteria not only responded, but did so at a very high rate. They discovered this by using a special sensor called an oxygen optode to track the changing oxygen levels in water samples taken from the slick. If the microbes were respiring slowly, then oxygen levels would decrease slowly; if they respired quickly, the oxygen would decrease quickly. Follow-up studies already “are in place,” Van Mooy says, to address the “mysterious” finding that the oil-gorging microbes do not appear to manufacture new cells. Van Mooy, Edwards, and their colleagues hypothesize that they may convert the energy to some other molecule, like sugars or fats. They plan to use “state-of-the-art methods” under development in their laboratory to look for bacterial fat molecules, a focus of Van Mooy's previous work. The results, he says, “could show where the energy went.” Edwards added that the results suggest “that microbes had the metabolic potential to break down a large portion of hydrocarbons and keep up with the flow rate from the wellhead.” http://gcaptain.com/happened-gulf-whoi-answers-study?28668
July 25, 2011 Return to the top	Republican Unveils Offshore Drilling Oversight Plan A leading House Republican today unveiled his plans for reorganizing the federal agencies that oversee offshore energy operations and beefing up the credentials of the government inspectors that police them. The proposal, by Rep. Doc Hastings, the head of the House Natural Resources Committee, dovetails with changes the Obama administration launched in the wake of last year's Gulf oil spill. Hastings said the spill made clear “that changes need to be made to the organization and structure of the federal government's offshore energy agencies.” “Reforms must increase accountability, improve efficiency, promote safety and ensure the highest ethical standards of employees,” said Hastings, R-Wash. Many of the changes that Hastings proposes are happening already, according to an administration official. And the core of Hastings' plan mirrors the overhaul the Obama administration is set to complete on Oct. 1, by dividing the former Minerals Management Service into three separate agencies. Administration officials have asked Congress to pass legislation that would write the still-ongoing overhaul into federal law. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee debated legislation last week that would formalize the now-administrative organizational changes. Hastings said it is important for Congress to put its stamp on the overhaul. “The Department of the Interior has already taken steps to restructure its organization overseeing offshore energy,” Hastings acknowledged. “While the department has made progress, I believe Congress should pass legislation building on their reforms and write into law the structure of these agencies.” http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/07/25/republican-unveils-offshore-drilling-oversight-plan/
June 22, 2011 Return to the top	Transocean Ltd. Announces Release of Internal Investigation Report on Causes of Macondo Well Incident Transocean Ltd. has announced the release of an internal investigation report on the causes of the April 20, 2010, Macondo well incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Following the incident, Transocean created an internal investigation team comprised of experts from relevant technical fields and specialists in accident investigation to gather, review and analyze the facts and information surrounding the incident to determine its causes. The report concludes that the Macondo incident was the result of a succession of interrelated well design, construction, and temporary abandonment decisions that compromised the integrity of the well and compounded the likelihood of its failure. The decisions in the two weeks leading up to the incident, were driven by BP's knowledge that the geological window for safe drilling was becoming increasingly narrow. Specifically, BP was concerned that downhole pressure,whether exerted by heavy drilling mud used to maintain well control or by pumping cement to seal the well, would exceed the fracture gradient and result in fluid losses to the formation, costing money and jeopardizing future production of oil. The Transocean investigation team traced the causes of the Macondo incident to four issues; Risk Management and Communication, Well Design and Construction, Risk Assessment and Process Safety and Operations. The loss of evidence with the rig and the unavailability of certain witnesses limited the investigation and analysis in some areas. The team used its years of experience but did not speculate in the absence of evidence. The report of the team does not represent the legal position of Transocean, nor does it attempt to assign legal responsibility or fault. Please see the below links for the full report: href="http://www.deepwater.com/_filelib/FileCabinet/pdfs/00_TRANSOCEAN_Vol_1.pdf http://www.deepwater.com/_filelib/FileCabinet/pdfs/12_TRANSOCEAN_Vol_2.pdf
June 20, 2011 Return to the top	BP Agrees to Settlement with Weatherford of Potential Claims Between the Companies Related to The Deepwater Horizon Accident BP announced that it has reached an agreement with Weatherford U.S., L.P. to settle potential claims between the companies related to the Deepwater Horizon accident. BP and Weatherford have agreed to mutual releases of potential claims against each other, and BP has agreed to indemnify Weatherford for compensatory claims resulting from the accident, including claims relating to pollution damage stemming from the accident. BP's indemnity excludes civil, criminal or administrative fines and penalties, claims for punitive damages, and certain other claims. The agreement is not an admission of liability by any party regarding the accident. Weatherford has become the second party in the last month to join BP in acknowledging findings by the Presidential Commission that the Deepwater Horizon incident was the product of complex causes involving multiple parties. Weatherford is the first of BP's contractors to formally agree with BP that the entire industry can and should learn from the Deepwater Horizon incident. Accordingly, Weatherford has committed to working with BP to take actions to improve processes and procedures, managerial systems, and safety and best practices in offshore drilling operations. BP and Weatherford will encourage other companies in the drilling industry to join them in this improvement and reform effort. Weatherford and BP have concluded that entering into this settlement is in their mutual best interests. Under the settlement and indemnity agreement, Weatherford, which manufactured the float collar used in the well, will pay BP $75 million. BP will immediately apply the payment to the $20 billion trust it established to meet individual, business and government claims, as well as the cost of the Natural Resource Damages. "This settlement allows BP and Weatherford to put our legal issues behind us and move forward together in strengthening processes and procedures, safety, and best practices in offshore drilling," said BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay. He added, "We are gratified that in the wake of the reports issued by the Presidential Commission and the United States Coast Guard, some of the companies involved in the Macondo well have stepped forward to recognize the findings of those investigations and help to fund the economic and environmental restoration of the Gulf." http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7069608
June 16, 2011 Return to the top	Judge dismisses a batch of Gulf of Mexico oil spill court claims A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a batch of court claims that accused BP PLC and other companies sued over the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill of violating the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said some of the claims brought by environmental groups are moot because BP's blown-out well was killed last summer and isn't spewing any more oil. The claims Barbier dismissed weren't seeking monetary damages. Rather, plaintiffs' attorneys asked for a court order to prevent companies from operating in a manner that could result in future violations of environmental laws. Barbier's ruling doesn't affect thousands of claims for economic losses filed by commercial fishers, tourism-driven businesses, property owners and others who claim the oil spill has cost them money. The judge is still weighing a separate request by the companies to dismiss those claims. Barbier is presiding over tens of thousands of claims spawned by last year's explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and triggered the spill. The judge has scheduled a trial in February 2012 to determine whether rig owner Transocean Ltd. can limit what it pays claimants under maritime law and to assign percentages of fault to Transocean and other companies involved in the disaster. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/06/judge_dismisses_a_batch_of_gul.html
June 13, 2011 Return to the top	The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) Issues Assessement and Recommendations From the Deepwater Horizon Incident The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) established an internal multidisciplinary project team in May 2010 to follow up the work being done in the wake of the DwH accident and to develop the best possible basis for the authority's supervision and other measures which could improve health, safety and the environment (HSE) on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The PSA's report builds on the investigation reports published so far, as well as a number of assessments of the accident by various professional bodies and various national and international processes. To view the full report please see the link included. http://www.ptil.no/getfile.php/PDF/DwH_PSA_summary.pdf
June 08, 2011 Return to the top	Feds to Extend Deep-water Leases Expiring Before 2016 The Obama administration will give oil and gas companies an extra year to develop their deep-water leases to make up for delays caused by last year's Gulf spill and the subsequent moratorium on some offshore drilling. President Barack Obama broadly announced his lease extension program in a radio address on May 14. Ever since, regulators at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement have been hashing out details of the plan — including how companies could apply for the extensions. Bureau Director Michael Bromwich previously said the agency soon would issue guidance on that application process. According to a government official, the extensions will be available for non-producing leases in at least 500 feet of water that expire before Dec. 31, 2015. Roughly 1,450 leases would qualify for the extra time. The move responds to complaints from Gulf Coast officials and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill who say the five-month moratorium on most deep-water exploration unfairly punished oil and gas companies with no connection to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, have advanced more expansive lease extension plans that also would apply to shallow water. The Obama administration did not halt shallow-water drilling after last year's spill, but oil and gas companies complained of a slowdown in government-issued permits for those projects. http://mobile.chron.com/chron/db_271415/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=qxrKbDn9&storycount=155&detailindex=5&pn=&ps=&full=true#display
June 01, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves 15th Drilling Permit The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has approved the fifteenth deepwater drilling permit to comply with the rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This permit is for BHP Billiton Petroleum (GOM) Inc. to drill a new development well in Green Canyon Block 653 at a water depth of 4,232 feet, approximately 120 miles off the Louisiana shoreline, south of Houma. http://www.ocsbbs.com/hottopics/2011/BOEMRE-approves-drilling-permit-for-15th-deepwater-well.pdf
May 31, 2011 Return to the top	IADC Comments on Volume 1 (Coast Guard) of the Joint Investigation Team's Deepwater Horizon Report The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has drafted a letter to provide comments on the Recommendations contained in Volume 1 of the Joint Investigation Team's "Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion, Fire, Sinking and Loss of Eleven Crew Members aboard the Mobile Offshore Drilling DEEPWATER HORIZON in the Gulf of Mexico, April 20-22, 2010" (the Report). http://www.iadc.org/committees/offshore/Documents/20110531%20USCG%20on%20DHW%20Investigation.pdf
May 26, 2011 Return to the top	Regulation Reforms at Interior: Simpler, Smarter, and More Cost-Effective As part of President Obama's plan for an innovative, balanced and cost-efficient federal regulatory culture in the 21st century, the Interior Department has introduced several initiatives that can reduce administrative expenses and promote economic growth and job creation. The Department of the Interior is reconsidering how they calculate royalties that companies owe the U.S. government for oil and gas produced from federal lands and offshore areas. The proposal would use geographically-based market prices as the presumed value of oil and gas. This change would reduce requirements under current regulations to undertake a complex transaction-by-transaction, fact-specific evaluation. Ultimately, this change could dramatically improve compliance, better ensure proper royalty valuation by creating a more transparent calculation method, and save significant administrative costs for industry and government. Before making any changes in regulations, policies and guidance, the Department of the Interior will ensure that the public has an opportunity to review and comment. http://www.doi.gov/news/doinews/Simple-Smarter-and-More-Cost-effective-Regulation-Reforms-at-Interior.cfm
May 26, 2011 Return to the top	Judge Orders Action on 6 Gulf Drilling Permits A federal judge has given the Obama administration 30 days to act on six permits for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman on Tuesday ruled on a lawsuit filed by Ensco Offshore Co. and others. He rejected Interior Department arguments that the issue was moot because it already has resumed issuing permits following the moratorium that was imposed last year after the massive BP oil spill. Three permit applications in the original lawsuit have been granted. But Feldman said the government's issuing of what he called “a scant few applications” does not provide the certainty Ensco needs to conduct its business in the Gulf. He said the law required the six remaining Ensco-related applications to be acted on within a reasonable period. http://loga.la/oil-gas-news/?p=4376
May 23, 2011 Return to the top	After Final Judgement, Ensco, U.S. Get More Time to Reach Deep-Water Deal Ensco Offshore Co. and the U.S. Justice Department sought and received more time to negotiate an end to its lawsuit over deep-water oil drilling permits. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans today gave the government an 11-day extension until June 20 to act on six offshore drilling permit applications that Ensco claims were unreasonably delayed by regulators. Ensco and the government asked for the delay in a joint filing on May 20. “The parties have been engaged in settlement negotiations that would resolve Ensco Offshore Company's remaining claims in this case without further litigation,” according to the May 20 filing. “The parties have made significant progress but have not yet reached a final settlement. The parties believe that further negotiations may enable the parties to reach a mutually agreeable resolution.” Both sides said an 11-day temporary delay of the judge's May 10 order would “prevent further unnecessary litigation.” If they can't reach a settlement by June 20, they may seek to extend the stay to continue talks, according to the filing. On May 10, Feldman, ruling on one of six issues in the protracted suit, agreed with Ensco arguments that the London- based company's applications to the U.S. Interior Department had been “unreasonably delayed” and he ordered the government to act within 30 days on six deepwater drilling permit requests. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-22/ensco-u-s-report-significant-progress-in-deepwater-drilling-ban-talks.html
May 18, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves BHP Exploration Plan WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- U.S. regulators gave approval to BHP Billiton to explore for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, the third such award since a drilling moratorium was lifted. The BOEMRE announced that it approved BHP Billiton's plans to drill in the Mad Dog prospect in the gulf. It's the third time the BOEMRE gave its approval since a moratorium on drilling the gulf was lifted in October. Shell was the recipient of the first two BOEMRE licenses in the Gulf of Mexico that were awarded after the gulf oil disaster. BHP Billiton won approval for an exploration well about 125 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,470 feet of water, the Platts news service reports. The BOEMRE said the BHP Billiton approval marked the first time a site was scrutinized under new standards enacted after last year's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig caught fire and sank in April 2010, killing 11 workers and resulting on one of the worst oil spills in the history of the industry. The BOEMRE approval comes as U.S. lawmakers bicker over the right to explore for more oil on the U.S. continental shelf. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/05/18/BHP-Billiton-gets-nod-for-Gulf-of-Mexico/UPI-60691305723243/#ixzz1MiA4GJZx
May 17, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar Outlines Specific Legislative Priorities for Oil, Gas WASHINGTON, DC, May 17 -- US President Barack Obama's administration would like Congress to amend the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act to allow federal onshore oil and gas leases of less than 10 years in length, Department of the Interior Sec. Ken Salazar said on May 17. The administration also would like more time for DOI to review offshore permit applications, and generally supports proposals to extend deepwater leases that were suspended by the 2010 moratorium and to develop better coordination among agencies issuing permits, he told the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Emphasizing the importance of remembering lessons learned from the 5 million bbl oil spill following the Macondo well accident in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico on Apr. 20, 2010, Salazar said, “It is important to recognize that our policy in terms of supporting offshore oil and gas development, including the deepwater, has not changed. We are moving forward in the gulf and looking at other possible areas for development. We also are implementing regulations reflecting lessons we learned from the Deepwater Horizon accident and spill.” But one Democrat on the committee questioned whether Interior and the BOEMRE are moving quickly enough. Mary L. Landrieu (La.) noted that the 14 deepwater wells that have received permits since the moratorium ended all were being drilled before the Macondo well incident. Permits for entirely new wells haven't been approved, and high gulf oil production rates will start to decline, she said. Federal deepwater well permits are being approved at a rate of one every 4-5 business days since offshore producers demonstrated their capability of controlling and containing subsea leaks in February, BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich said. That rate is not significantly different from before the accident and spill, but is being achieved with additional requirements for operators and more stringent reviews by BOEMRE, he observed. Opposes House bill Salazar said he does not support the bill that the House passed last week deeming an applicant's offshore drilling permit approved if BOEMRE doesn't reach a decision in a specified period. “I don't think an extension to 90 days is significant because we need the time to review applications thoroughly,” he said. “No one wants a company to enter into an endless process that leads nowhere. Having a clear process is important. The reality is that 30 days is simply not enough time to either accept or reject a drilling permit application. We're talking about a 90-day time frame to review an exploration plan to conduct the necessary scientific and safety reviews.” Bromwich said, “Arbitrary time limits are a bad idea. Operators could submit applications they knew were deficient and simply run out the clock. Substandard applications would not satisfy requirements we have put in place.” He said BOEMRE is looking at ways to make its permitting process clearer and more transparent to lease operators, including ways to let them know where their applications are in the permitting process and developing templates and check lists for them to use. The agency, which historically has been underfunded, finally got money to increase its workforce last month, he added. Salazar said he supports provisions in S. 916 and S. 917, which committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced last week, that would codify administrative changes the secretary already has made at DOI. He said Congress needs to authorize creation of an Ocean Energy Safety Institute to keep DOI's expertise on par with the oil and gas industry's, and to phase out deepwater royalty relief provisions that are no longer necessary to stimulate exploration and production there. He also asked Congress to increase civil and criminal penalties for companies that fail to comply with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. (last paragraph from MyFoxBoston story: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/business/white-house-asks-congress-to-change-oil-laws-25-ncx-20110517) http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/3628726192/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/government/20100/may-2011/salazar-outlines_specific.html
May 17, 2011 Return to the top	Full Text of Salazar's Statements to Senate Committee and Obama's Energy Initiatives Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources regarding Interior's work to facilitate the development of oil and gas resources on the nation's OCS and public lands. The full text of his statement is available at the following link location: http://www.doi.gov/news/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=245367 During his speech before the committee, Salazar made reference to measures the Obama administration is currently undertaking. A document outlining the Administration's legislative principles here: http://www.doi.gov/news/doinews/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=245472 http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Hayes-Bromwich-Testify-on-Safe-Responsible-Domestic-Oil-and-Gas-Production.cfm
May 16, 2011 Return to the top	Taxpayers on the Hook for BP's Gulf Spill The oil hearings last week revealed that BP is moving to cut its tax bill by about $11.8 billion by writing off the costs of its devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an ordinary business expense. BP booked $11.8 billion in tax savings in its fourth quarter as it partly wrote off the costs for the clean-up, the $20 billion victim compensation fund, and legal expenses. Without the move, BP's bottom line would have been deep in the red. BP says it has already taken a $40.9 billion total pre-tax charge to its income in 2010. The oil company did not return calls or e-mail requests for comment. Taxpayers are on the hook for about 29% of BP's overall costs, says Senate Democrat Bill Nelson of Florida, who has introduced a bill that would shut down deductions for legal, clean-up and other costs associated with oil spills in U.S. territorial waters as "ordinary and necessary" business expenses. The legislation would apply to most of BP's expenses, Nelson has said. Nelson says this bill was necessary, especially after BP itself vowed to not deduct such costs as "ordinary and necessary" business expenses. And especially after Boeing and Goldman Sachs didn't deduct similar costs after they got in trouble with the government. All this unfolded at a testy hearing last Thursday of the Senate Finance Committee, where oil executives defended their lucrative profits and attempted to explain away rising gas prices. Sen. Nelson began a line of questioning with BP America chairman and president Lamar McKay on whether the CEO thought it was justifiable that BP was attempting to take a tax write-off for costs associated with the spill. In BP's fourth quarter 2010 SEC filing. the company indicated it planned to generate $11.8 billion in tax savings as a result of the oil spill. “Surely, the Gulf oil spill was the result of wrongdoing, and yet you want to claim that as a tax credit," Sen. Nelson said at the hearing. BP “may be entitled to this under the law, but that doesn't make it right." But McKay said the company was not treating the expense deductions as a tax credit, and said the write-offs were justified as "standard business expenses." However, Nelson said: "BP agreed to pick up the entire tab for cleaning the mess up the Gulf. Shifting these costs back to the taxpayer shouldn't be allowed." Sen. Nelson also noted that in unrelated cases involving company wrongdoing Boeing and Goldman Sachs had voluntarily agreed not to deduct such things as legal expenses. Sen. Nelson said at the hearing that “ should consider changing the law to follow the example set by Boeing and Goldman Sachs.” http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/05/16/taxpayers-hook/
May 12, 2011 Return to the top	House Passes Third Bill to Increase Drilling May 12 (Bloomberg) -- The Republican-controlled U.S. House passed legislation to open areas to oil drilling along the Atlantic, Southern California and Alaska coasts, the third bill approved to boost output as gasoline prices reach $4 a gallon. The legislation was approved by a 243-179 vote, with 21 Democrats in favor, hours after oil company executives appeared at a Senate hearing to defend $21 billion in tax breaks that Democrats want to repeal to reduce the federal deficit. Republicans have focused on expanding offshore production to lower gas prices. The House bill would require the U.S. to increase production goals to 3 million barrels of oil a day by 2027, and open areas now off-limits to oil and gas companies. Congress let a drilling ban along much of the outer continental shelf expire in 2008 after gas prices exceeded $4 a gallon. President Barack Obama said in March 2010 that he supported expanding offshore drilling. He withdrew the plan after an explosion 20 days later aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and triggered the BP Plc spill, the worst in U.S. waters. Safety Reforms Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Congress should pass safety reforms in response to the spill. The House has now passed three measures aimed at expanding U.S. oil and gas production. Lawmakers last week passed a bill requiring lease sales in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and off of Virginia's coastline. Yesterday, it passed legislation forcing the Interior Department to rule on drilling permits within 60 days. The permit would be approved if the deadline expired without action. The administration said it opposes all three measures, without issuing a veto threat. The bills must pass the Democrat- controlled Senate to become law, and the chamber isn't considering similar measures. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-12/house-passes-bill-to-add-u-s-areas-for-offshore-drilling.html
May 11, 2011 Return to the top	Shell Wins Deep-Water Drilling Plan Approval for U.S. Gulf Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) won U.S. approval for a second Gulf of Mexico deep-water exploration plan, making it the only company to pass environmental reviews introduced after the BP Plc (BP/) oil spill last year. Shell, based in The Hague, won approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement to drill five exploratory wells in waters as deep as 7,259 feet (2,213 meters), 72 miles off the Louisiana coast, the regulator, known as BOEMRE, said today in an e-mailed statement. “BOEMRE has approved only two deep-water exploration plans since the lifting of the moratorium, and Shell is pleased to have received both,” Marvin Odum, the chief of Shell's U.S. operations, said in an e-mailed statement today. “This approval is further evidence of Shell's expertise and confidence in the offshore and should be strongly considered as Shell moves forward with additional exploration.” The U.S. increased scrutiny of environmental impacts from oil exploration after BP's well exploded on April 20, 2010, and gushed for 87 days. Shell won approval on March 21 for the first post-spill exploration plan, for drilling in the Gulf 130 miles from the Louisiana shore. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-11/shell-wins-deep-water-exploration-plan-approval-for-u-s-gulf.html
May 11, 2011 Return to the top	U.S. House Approves Bill That Seeks To Speed Up Offshore Drilling Permits WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to impose deadlines on the Obama administration to issue offshore drilling permits, as Republicans renew calls for greater amounts of domestic oil production amid rising gasoline prices. The House passed the legislation Wednesday, approving two of three bills that seek to expand and speed up the pace of offshore oil and gas drilling. The Senate, however, which is controlled by Democrats, is unlikely to approve the measure. The Senate is instead looking to repeal tax breaks given to the largest oil and gas companies, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB, RDSA.LN, RDSB.LN) and Chevron Corp. (CVX). The bill approved Wednesday follows months during which oil and gas companies, particularly those operating in the Gulf of Mexico, have complained about the length of time it has taken the Interior Department to review and issue drilling permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These companies have accused the department of imposing a de facto moratorium on drilling after lifting a real moratorium on deepwater drilling in October 2010. Top Interior Department officials have defended their permit reviews, saying reviews are taking longer because they have to ensure compliance with stringent new standards developed in the wake of the oil spill. The bill cleared the House by a vote of 263 to 163, with votes falling mostly along partly lines. The bill is part of a package of legislation, introduced by Republicans, that seeks to expand or speed up offshore drilling. Earlier this month, the House approved the first of those bills, aimed at forcing the Obama administration to hold lease sales planned for the Gulf of Mexico and off the Virginia coast. This most recent bill requires the Interior Department to issue or deny a permit application within 30 days of receiving it, although it allows the department an additional 30 days if necessary. Under current law, the Interior Department isn't obligated to issue or deny permits in any particular time frame. http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201105111534dowjonesdjonline000474&title=u.shouse-approves-bill-that-seeks-to-speed-up-offshore-drilling-permits
May 10, 2011 Return to the top	BP Rejects Claims for Gulf Drilling-Ban Losses, Damages to Cleanup-Boats BP Plc (BP/) said it isn't responsible for damages to boats that participated in its oil-spill cleanup program or for the losses of Gulf Coast businesses idled by the U.S. deep-water drilling moratorium. The U.S. Oil Pollution Act, which requires companies to compensate people and businesses harmed by an offshore spill, makes clear that liability is “limited to damages directly caused by a covered oil spill and that indirect or derivative losses are not compensable,” BP said in papers filed yesterday in federal court in New Orleans. BP's filing came in response to to post-spill claims included among 350 consolidated lawsuits by thousands of businesses and individuals who allege harm from the more than 4.1 million barrels of oil that gushed from BP's damaged subsea well last year. London-based BP created a $20 billion fund, administered by Kenneth Feinberg, to repay losses caused by the disaster. Please see web link for more information. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-10/bp-rejects-claims-for-drill-ban-losses-cleanup-boat-damages.html
May 10, 2011 Return to the top	U.S. Must Act on Six Drilling Requests Within 30 Days, Federal Judge Says The U.S. “unlawfully and improperly delayed” permits for deep-water drilling after the BP Plc (BP/) Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans today ordered offshore energy regulators to act within 30 days on six pending permit applications filed by companies that have contracts with Ensco Offshore Co., the Louisiana drilling company leading the legal challenge to the government's offshore drilling bans. Federal law “establishes a non-discretionary duty on the Department of Interior to act, favorably or unfavorably, on drilling permit applications within a reasonable time,” Feldman said in a written order. Ensco was harmed by “the government's failure to act on pending permit applications contemplating the use of Ensco's rigs,” he said. The Obama administration suspended all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet last May in response to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. More than 4.1 million barrels of crude leaked into the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank while drilling a subsea well for BP off the Louisiana coast in April. “We're reviewing the judge's ruling,” Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department, said in an e-mail. He declined to comment further “at this time.” Previous Moratorium After offshore companies and regional business and political leaders sued in June, Feldman threw out the government's deep-water drilling moratorium as overly broad and punitive to the Gulf Coast economy. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar imposed a second ban in July. That ban was also challenged in court, and Salazar withdrew it in October before Feldman could rule on its validity. Ensco continued its lawsuit after the second moratorium was lifted, contending that regulators were continuing a de facto ban by refusing to process new permits. The government argued that the lawsuit was made irrelevant by the end of the moratorium and that any delays in granting permits were required to prevent future incidents such as the BP spill. The government has “unlawfully and improperly delayed” Ensco permit applications, Feldman said today. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-10/u-s-must-act-on-six-drilling-permits-federal-judge-orders.html
May 09, 2011 Return to the top	Louisiana Lawmakers Propose New BP Oil Spill Legislation Several proposed new laws in Louisiana's legislature would make it easier for Louisiana residents to sue BP, eliminating filing deadlines and retroactively nullifying settlement agreements. Legislation has been proposed in the Louisiana House of Representatives that retroactively nullifies any settlement agreements made by BP with oil spill victims if they suffer future medical problems due to the spill or dispersants used in the cleanup. House Bill 389 was proposed by Rep. Patrick Connick (R-Marrero) and "shall apply to all settlements and release entered into on or after April 20, 2010." Another proposal, House Concurrent Resolution 48 by Rep. Truck Gisclair (D-Larose), asks the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct investigations into health effects of the oil spill, subsequent cleanup and how residents should act to protect their long-term health. In the Louisiana Senate, Bill 184 seeks to eliminate filing deadlines until 2021 for any lawsuits and other legislations relating to the BP oil spill. The proposed legislation is the latest in the state of Louisiana's attempts to recover as much damages as possible from BP, Transocean, Halliburton and other companies responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion and Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In March, Louisiana state House and Senate leadership announced that a special committee has been assigned to oversee the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) and its claims process. The committee was formed after complaints from Louisiana residents expressing frustration with Ken Feinberg, the GCCF administrator, and the overall claims process. Louisiana State Senate President Joel Chaisson II (D-Destrehan) said that there has been "significant dissatisfaction with the way the claims process has been handled" among his constituents. Louisiana politicians have also been pressing BP for a $15 million payment to help replenish oyster beds that were killed off when freshwater from the Mississippi river was diverted to the wet lands to combat encroaching oil. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana congressional delegation in Washington D.C. have lambasted BP for allegedly going back on an earlier promise to pay the state for the oysters. BP has not made any commitment to pay back Louisiana for money spent on oyster and wetland restoration. BP did agree to pay $1 billion, separate from any GCCF claims or other legislation, to Gulf States for coastal restoration projects. http://www.louisianarecord.com/news/235329-louisiana-lawmakers-propose-new-bp-oil-spill-legislation
May 06, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Seeking Senior Executives for New Bureaus The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced it is seeking to fill five senior executive positions for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the two new bureaus that will replace the former Minerals Management Service (MMS). The positions will be filled over the next several months, so that the executive leadership teams for both BOEM and BSEE will be in place to ensure a smooth transition when the bureaus commence separate operations on Oct. 1, 2011. The positions announced today are: Chief Environmental Officer, BOEM, Headquarters Strategic Resources Chief, BOEM, Headquarters Regulatory Programs Chief, BSEE, Headquarters Deputy Director, BSEE, Headquarters Regional Director, BOEM, Gulf of Mexico Region BOEM will be responsible for managing the development of the nation's offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible manner. The functions of BOEM will include leasing, environmental science, environmental analysis and assessment, resource evaluation, economic analysis, renewable energy, and plan administration. BSEE will be responsible for regulatory, safety, environmental and conservation compliance for the development of the nation's offshore oil and gas and renewable energy resources. The functions of BSEE will include regulation, enforcement, permitting, inspections, safety management, environmental compliance and enforcement, and oil spill response. To find out how to apply for these positions and to learn more about other career opportunities, please visit: http://www.boemre.gov/jobs. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0506.htm
May 05, 2011 Return to the top	House passes Bill to Force Offshore Lease Sales This Year in Gulf and Off Coast of Virginia WASHINGTON -- The House passed legislation Thursday to require the Obama administration to move ahead this year with lease sales -- three in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the coast of Virginia -- that were canceled by the administration after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The vote was 266-149, with 33 Democrats - including Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans - voting "yes" and 2 Republicans voting "no." The administration opposed the bill which it said would "hastily open areas of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic using outdated (National Environmental Policy Act) analysis that was conducted before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill." "The Administration has strengthened NEPA analysis in light of lessons learned from the spill," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement Thursday, noting that the Department of Interior already "intends to hold all three Gulf of Mexico lease sales referenced in the bill by mid-2012." The legislation is the first of three GOP bills intended to increase domestic energy production by opening new territory to drilling and picking up the pace of permitting. "Finally we are doing what the American people have been asking them to do -- start the process of stopping to kick the energy problem can in this country down the road," said Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, in one of several floor speeches he made during the several hours of debate on the bill. "Finally we are going to take the steps necessary to put people back to work and start America down a path toward affordable domestic energy now." Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and author of all three bills, said passage of this legislation would help reduce gas prices because it "will send a strong signal to the world market that the U.S. is serious about producing our own resources and bringing more American production on line." Hastings said that if there was no lease sale this year, it would be the first time since 1958. Republicans refused to let Democrats offer an amendment to eliminate $32 billion over ten years in tax breaks for the five largest oil companies. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, spoke next to a chart showing profits for the Big Five oil companies for the first quarter of 2011 - $10.7 billion for ExxonMobil, $8.8 billion for Shell, 7.1 billion for BP, $6.2 billion for Chevron, and $3 billion for ConocoPhillips. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/05/house_passes_bill_to_force_off.html
May 05, 2011 Return to the top	Louisiana Seeks Large Share of Oil Spill Liability Money BATON ROUGE, La. – State officials say Louisiana was hurt more than other states by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and so should get more money than other states from companies responsible for the disaster. Garret Graves, who leads the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, told state lawmakers Wednesday that the state opposes such funds going to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, given that 60-90 percent of the oil spills impacts have occurred on coastal Louisiana. “This would be the federal government literally profiting from the injury that was experienced in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast,” Graves said. Rep. Joe Harrison, a Republican from Houma, agreed. “We incurred the majority of the damage by far,” he said. “And that's why I would hope that, and I know that our Congressional delegation and also the governor and the executive committees that are involved would present the type of information that supports our position to get the largest portion of that potential fine to assist us in what I think is going to be something we're going to deal with for years to come.” Graves said that recommendations in reports by Navy Sec. Ray Mabus and the National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, established by President Barack Obama, as well as legislation by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., would divert up to 80 percent of fines to the coastal states. But Graves said there is well-established precedent for a second alternative: directly negotiating a settlement between local authorities and responsible parties. In that case, up to 80 percent of fines would be spent on supplemental environmental projects to restore the environment, coast and fisheries. Graves has asked federal authorities to begin negotiations for such a settlement. He said Louisiana would fare better by negotiating a settlement with federal agencies rather than reaching a political solution in Congress. “One of the challenges in going through Congress is that Sen. Landrieu, Sen. Vitter, our House delegation will have to negotiate with the delegations from those other states,” Graves said. “Texas has a large delegation. Florida has a large delegation.” He said a Congressional solution would also require a budget offset from the diversion to the states, which he said would be very difficult in this budget climate. Negotiating with the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and responsible parties directly “would be a better venue for Louisiana to negotiate based on true impacts and merit, versus based upon political considerations and who has a larger delegation.” Graves says federal liability may rise to $70 billion across the responsible parties. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/05/05/louisiana-seeks-large-share-of-oil-spill-liability-money/
May 03, 2011 Return to the top	Anadarko May Settle Some Macondo Spill Claims May 3 (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N), part owner of BP Plc's (BP.L) (BP.N) blown out Gulf of Mexico well, said on Tuesday it may settle some oil spill claims even though the oil and gas company maintains it holds no liability for the accident. "We feel very strongly about our position, but we're prepared to come to the table under the right circumstances," Jim Hackett, Anadarko's chief executive officer, told analysts on a conference call. Anadarko owns 25 percent of the Macondo well that ruptured last year and caused the world's worst marine oil spill. BP is the well's operator. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/03/anadarko-idUSN038508220110503
May 03, 2011 Return to the top	Helix Adds Beefed-up Capping Stack The Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) has beefed up its oil spill response capabilities with the addition of a capping stack rated to 15,000 psi. It is the second stack in the HWCG system. The first is rated to 10,000 psi. The system is currently able to deploy on wells as deep as 8000 feet and the group plans to up that capability to 10,000 feet by this summer. Weighing in at a hefty 156,000 pounds, the stack was engineered by Trendsetter Engineering in Houston. The stack is unique in that it allows an operator to access the wellbore for intervention or repair while the cap remains in place, HWCG said. “For the first time, the HWCG has technology on standby that can be used to flow back or intervene in wells that require up to 15,000 psi capability – this is a significant advancement in our well-containment system,” HWCG commercial director Roger Scheuermann said. “HWCG's well-containment system is capable of controlling and containing the vast majority of the deep-water wells in the Gulf of Mexico.” HWCG is made up of a more than 20 members including Gulf heavyweights Anadarko Petroleum, BHP Billiton and Apache http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article254833.ece
May 02, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Development at OTC Houston, Texas- BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered remarks today at the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas. OTC is an international event, bringing together experts from around the world focusing on the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. Director Bromwich discussed the path forward for United States (U.S.) regulation of offshore oil and gas development, outlining the new offshore organizational and regulatory framework. Director Bromwich's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available via the link included within this posting. In his speech, Bromwich discussed the work BOEMRE has done in the past year to re-shape regulation of offshore oil and gas development for the future. He also identified two new major developments relating to the way BOEMRE provides information to and regulates entities that operate offshore: In the coming weeks, BOEMRE will be issuing recommended procedures for submitting Applications for Permits to Drill (APDs), which can be adopted by operators on a voluntary basis and will be designed to assist them in complying with new regulations and to assist BOEMRE in processing APDs more rapidly. The guiding principles will be greater clarity, transparency and consistency in the permitting process. Second, BOEMRE has concluded that it has broad legal authority over all activities relating to offshore leases, whether it engaged in by lessees, operators, or contractors. The agency can exercise such authority as it deems appropriate to fully preserve the principle of holding operators fully responsible -- and in most cases solely responsible -- without sacrificing the ability to pursue regulatory actions against contractors for serious violations of agency rules and regulations. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0502a.htm
May 02, 2011 Return to the top	Offshore Regulators Will Extend Their Reach: Service Providers, Others Fall Under Federal Oversight The federal agency that polices offshore drilling historically has focused on oil and gas companies, but it will begin extending its regulatory reach to services firms, drilling rig suppliers and other contractors, an Obama administration official said Monday in Houston. The change could mean fines and other penalties for contractors that engage in "egregious" behavior as part of their work on projects in federal waters leased for oil and gas development, said Michael Bromwich, the head of the BOEMRE. He spoke on opening day of the Offshore Technology Conference at Reliant Park. Bromwich stressed the move wouldn't upset the longstanding principle that oil and gas companies are "fully liable for things that go wrong" offshore. "There is a virtue in the clarity that we've had historically in being able to go directly against the operators even when it relates to contractors, but there are at least a small number of cases where we want to be able to go against contractors," Bromwich said. "Certainly in at least some cases, where the behavior of non-operators — that is, contractors - is egregious enough, we need to have the ability to move directly to enforcement actions, through the assessment of civil fines and through the other regulatory tools that we have." Bromwich said an internal review of current laws concluded that the agency already has "broad legal authority over all activities relating to offshore leases, whether it is engaged in by lessees, operators or contractors." Oil and gas industry leaders said Bromwich's remarks left questions unanswered. Randall Luthi, the head of the National Offshore Industries Association, said it's unclear how the ocean energy bureau will assert its authority - especially given that its resources are already strained. "Once you shift from just regulating the operators to the contractors, the universe could be huge," Luthi said. "We've got an agency that - according to every report we've read in the last year - is chronically underfunded and doesn't have the personnel to do what they were designed to do. And just as funding starts to come in, there is what looks like a push to do more." Lee Hunt, president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, said it also isn't clear how the ocean energy bureau will coordinate its work with existing offshore regulation by other federal agencies. For instance, the Coast Guard oversees mobile drilling rigs and ships that operate in U.S. waters. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has authority over some platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Industry representatives also voiced concern the bureau's expanded reach could mean more red tape for offshore drilling. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7547612.html
May 02, 2011 Return to the top	JIT Publishes Addendum to Det Norske Veritas BOP Report The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the Deepwater Horizon incident has published an addendum to the Det Norske Veritas BOP investigation report. The addendum is available at the link provided in this posting. The JIT was charged with investigating the explosion, loss of life, and blowout associated with the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig failure. As a part of this overall investigation, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) was retained to undertake a forensic examination, investigation, testing and scientific evaluation of the blowout preventer stack (BOP), its components and associated equipment used by the Deepwater Horizon drilling operation. Forensic testing was completed on March 4, 2011. A final forensic investigation report titled “Forensic Examination of Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer - Volume I Final Report” [Report No. EP030842] was issued on March 20, 2011. As a follow on to the Final Report, this addendum provides: • Corrections to text • Clarifications requested by BOEMRE • Fault Tree Analysis • Alternative theories • Cutting (or not) of Upper VBR hoses via ROV • Support for elastic buckling theory • An update of the off-center drill pipe finite element analysis (FEA) model • Revised figures and updated text for DNV Forensic Report starting at Page 156 directly following Figure 133 http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com/external/content/document/3043/1077835/1/Addendum%20to%20DNV%20Report%20EP030842.pdf
May 02, 2011 Return to the top	GOP Governors Call for More State Input on Drilling Four Republican oil-state governors urged a slew of other coastal governors Monday to join a new coalition formed to ensure states play a bigger role in decisions regarding future offshore oil and gas development. The Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition was launched Monday during a conference in Houston by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell. All four governors have been critical of the Obama administration's energy policies. They have accused the Interior Department of moving too slowly to resume projects that were halted in the aftermath of last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill and in approving new drilling projects. In a letter to every governor along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, the Republican governors say the Obama administration has not worked closely enough with states on major decisions related to offshore oil-and-gas drilling. “Currently, all federal decisions regarding exploration and production must be made in consultation with affected states,” the letter says. “In recent months, however, the federal government has taken sweeping actions regarding offshore oil and gas activities with little consultation with the states. Unfortunately, many of these federal actions have been in conflict with our states'and citizens interests. [sic]” The Republican governors called on their colleagues to join their coalition, which will work to “foster an appropriate dialogue between the coastal states and the Administration and ensure that future actions are done with adequate state input.” http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/158603-gop-governors-call-for-more-state-input-on-drilling
April 27, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE to Hire Regional Leadership for New Bureau WASHINGTON - The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced its search to fill two senior leadership positions for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), one of the two new bureaus being created as part of the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service. The positions to be filled are the Regional Directors for the Pacific Region and Alaska Region offices, located in Camarillo, Calif., and Anchorage, Alaska, respectively. "The people occupying these senior positions will have the responsibility for managing and directing all regulatory and enforcement programs related to safe and environmentally sound offshore energy development," said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. "We are looking for capable leaders and experienced managers who are committed to ensuring the highest level of safety and environmental standards." The individuals selected will be responsible for the overall safety and environmental enforcement programs for the Pacific and Alaska regions as well as overseeing the work of BSEE employees assigned to their region. The process of filling senior positions is being launched now to ensure a smooth transition from BOEMRE to the two new bureaus, BSEE and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The new bureaus will begin operations at the beginning of the next fiscal year, Oct.1. To find out how to apply for these positions and to learn more about other career opportunities in BOEMRE, go to: http://www.boemre.gov/jobs. To find additional information on the transition of BOEMRE to BSEE and BOEM, go to: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=119590. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0427.htm
April 26, 2011 Return to the top	Transcripts Available from Joint Investigation of DWH BOP The Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has posted the transcripts from the latest BOP hearings online for public review. The transcripts cover hearings from April 4, 6, 7 and 8 where investigators heard testimony regarding the failure of the BOP on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig during the Macondo event. The transcripts are available at the link displayed within this announcement. http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com/go/site/3043/
April 26, 2011 Return to the top	Environmental Groups File Suits to Rescind Permits Environmentalists urged a New Orleans appellate court today to require U.S. offshore-drilling regulators to enforce safeguards for wildlife and water quality that they claim were routinely ignored before last year's BP Plc (BP/) oil spill. Lawyers representing the Sierra Club, the Gulf Restoration Network, the Center for Biological Diversity and other activist groups asked the court to force the Interior Department to rescind several deep-water drilling permits regulators approved last April, just before and after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The activists claim that five drilling permits were awarded last April without completion of the full environmental-impact assessments required by law. The activist groups sued Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar and his agency seeking multiple changes to U.S. drilling regulations following the Deepwater Horizon disaster last April. The environmental groups challenged the agency's actions directly at the appeals court, which is permitted under U.S. law. Related offshore-drilling policy lawsuits filed by some of the activist groups in lower federal courts were subsequently consolidated into the appellate actions. A three-judge appellate panel heard arguments on the challenges in back-to-back sessions today. Government lawyers today urged the appeals court not to interfere with agency decisions that regulators made according to rules that were in place at the time the permits were granted. Regulators notified oil companies in November 2010 that the agency would beef up existing environmental-impact assessment requirements “to consider the implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” government lawyer Ignacia Moreno said in a court filing. “The petitioners' attempt to have this court rule that the agency should have started that process within days of the Deepwater Horizon initial explosion should be rejected,” Moreno said in the filing. Environmentalists told the judges the agency's practice of using of so-called categorical exclusions, which let regulators arbitrarily exempt companies from fulfilling certain permit requirements, violated the law. The lead cases are Gulf Restoration Network v. Salazar, 10- 60411, and Center for Biological Diversity v. Salazar, 10-60417, both in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (New Orleans). http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-26/u-s-must-safeguard-environment-in-ocean-drills-activists-urge-court.html
April 22, 2011 Return to the top	Coast Guard Investigative Report on Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Fire, Sinking Blasts Rig Owner Transocean The U.S. Coast Guard has released the first part of its findings about the explosions and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig a year ago, and unlike previous reports on the catastrophe, it takes aim at rig owner Transocean and the Pacific island nation under whose flag the rig operated. The Coast Guard led a joint accident investigation with the Interior Department's offshore regulatory agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The Coast Guard report left the joint investigation's conclusions about the causes of the Macondo well blowout for later, after more information is gathered about the failure of the rig's blowout preventer device. Reports by other investigators and agencies, and testimony at public hearings held by the Coast Guard and Interior investigators over the last year, have shown that the main causes of the well blowout lay in decisions and mistakes made before the blowout at 9:49 p.m. on April 20, 2010. Many of those decisions were made by BP engineers on shore and company men on the rig. But the Coast Guard's initial findings released Friday hardly mention BP because they deal with what happened after the initial blowout, when the Transocean rig crew failed to bring the well under control and prevent massive explosions. The Coast Guard's investigation report said "numerous systems deficiencies, and acts and omissions by Transocean and its Deepwater Horizon crew" stopped them from limiting the disaster once it began As previous reports have noted, such as BP's internal investigation and the presidential Oil Spill Commission's probe, the Coast Guard found that Transocean's drilling crew, eight of whom died, failed to direct oil and gas overboard through a diverter line, something that might have sent most of the flammable gas away from ignition sources. The report cites "poor maintenance of electrical equipment that may have ignited the explosion, and lack of training of personnel on when and how to shut down engines and disconnect the (rig) from the well to avoid a gas explosion ...." It goes on to say that Transocean didn't have a corporate culture that emphasized safety. Central to that finding was testimony last year that showed several key alarm systems and emergency shutdown devices were set so they wouldn't activate automatically, but rather only with human intervention. Witnesses testified that Transocean leadership wanted certain alarms set to "inhibited" mode so the rig wouldn't experience false alarms in the middle of the night. The Coast Guard concludes that rig workers on the bridge were also poorly trained to respond when told that gas levels surged dangerously high on the drill floor. But Transocean said its systems all complied with Coast Guard safety standards. "The Coast Guard inspected the Deepwater Horizon just seven months before the Macondo incident and certified the rig as being fully compliant with all applicable U.S. and international marine safety compliance standards, including those associated with fire and gas detection systems," Transocean said in a statement. "The Company looks forward to setting the record straight." The Coast Guard noted that its findings are not final and could change when the joint investigation panel's final report is released, by July 27 For more information on the Coast Guard Report, please see the link included in this posting. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/coast_guard_investigative_repo.html
April 21, 2011 Return to the top	BP Sues Transocean and Halliburton On the one year anniversary of the worst oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry that killed 11 workers and created an environmental disaster, BP filed lawsuits totaling over $80 billion against its contractors, Transocean and Halliburton. This was the deadline for companies involved in the spill to file claims against one another. The lawsuits seek up to the full cost of the disaster, as well as costs, interest and punitive damages. According to the April 21st reuters.com article, “Lawsuits fly in BP's Gulf spill blame game”, BP was quoted as saying in in a court filing: “Halliburton's improper conduct, errors and omissions, including fraud and concealment, caused and/or contributed to the Deepwater Horizon incident.” In an emailed statement Halliburton was quoted as saying: “We will vigorously defend these claims.” Joseph Lampel, Professor of Strategy at Cass Business School was quoted as saying about the lawsuits that: “What we know about any corporate battle in court, is that it's rare for any side to come out better.” http://www.jdjournal.com/2011/04/21/bp-files-billion-dollar-lawsuits-on-one-year-anniversary-of-gulf-oil-disaster/
April 21, 2011 Return to the top	Transocean Files Claims Against BP, Others Related To Gulf Spill Transocean Ltd. said it filed cross-claims against BP PLC and other entities involved in last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, as the legal wrangling over the offshore oil disaster continues. On Wednesday, BP filed suit against Transocean, which owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon drilling vessel, and Cameron International Corp., which manufactured a critical safety device called a blowout preventor that was intended to shut down BP's well in an emergency. The claims are part of litigation filed in federal court in New Orleans related to the disaster that began last April. The BP complaint said Transocean is responsible for failures of safety devices and control procedures and is seeking at least $40 billion in damages. Transocean said Thursday that BP agreed to assume full responsibility for any "loss, expense, claim, fine, penalty or liability" for pollution or contamination, in its drilling contract. At stake in the broader litigation is who owes the federal and local governments billions of dollars in compensation for the 4.9 million barrels of oil that gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after the BP well exploded and the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110421-713281.html
April 20, 2011 Return to the top	BP Sues Maker of Blowout Preventer BP sued the maker of the device that failed to stop last year's calamitous Gulf oil spill on Wednesday, alleging that negligence by the manufacturer helped cause the disaster. The British company said in papers filed in federal court in New Orleans that Cameron International provided a blowout preventer with a faulty design, which caused an unreasonable amount of risk that harm would occur. The suit, filed on the first anniversary of the explosion that led to the spill, seeks damages to help BP pay for the tens of billions of dollars in liabilities it has incurred from the disaster. "The Deepwater Horizon BOP was unreasonably dangerous, and has caused and continues to cause harm, loss, injuries, and damages to BP (and others) stemming from the blowout of Macondo well, the resulting explosion and fire onboard the Deepwater Horizon, the efforts to regain control of the Macondo well, and the oil spill that ensued before control of the Macondo well could be regained," BP said in the suit. BP wants the court to award the oil giant damages against Cameron and to declare that the device maker caused or contributed to the disaster and is responsible for some or all costs incurred by BP. Eleven people were killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010, leading to more than 200 million gallons of oil spewing from an undersea well. A testing firm hired by the government determined last month the blowout preventer had a faulty design. But it also cited other problems related to rig crew actions. Houston-based Cameron noted in a statement emailed to AP that Wednesday was the deadline under the relevant statute for all parties to file claims against each other. "It is not surprising that the companies are filing to protect their indemnity rights (except in the case of BP) and whatever claims they believe they have," Cameron said. "Additionally, in order to protect ourselves, we, too, have filed crossclaims and counterclaims, including our indemnity claims, against other parties to the litigation." http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13421700
April 20, 2011 Return to the top	Statement by Secretary Salazar Marking One-Year Anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill WASHINGTON, DC--Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today issued the following statement regarding the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “Today, we remember the eleven men who died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. They were sons, fathers, husbands and brothers. Our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones on this solemn anniversary. “Today, we also recognize the thousands of women and men who have worked tirelessly and relentlessly over the last year to contain the spill, clean marshes and coastlines, rehabilitate wildlife, and put the Gulf Coast on the path to restoration. We honor their service and sacrifices for our country. “As we reflect on last year's tragedy, we are reminded as well of the importance of the work at hand. At the Department of the Interior, we remain focused on helping the Gulf Coast's natural resources recover and implementing needed reforms that are strengthening safety and environmental protections for offshore energy operations. As President Obama has made clear, this administration will not rest until all the oil is cleaned up and the Gulf Coast is fully restored.” http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Statement-by-Secretary-Salazar-Marking-One-Year-Anniversary-of-the-Deepwater-Horizon-Oil-Spill.cfm
April 19, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of Offshore Oil and Gas Development at Gulf Oil Spill Series WASHINGTON – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered remarks today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Gulf Oil Spill Series in Washington, D.C. Director Bromwich discussed lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill, ongoing regulatory reform efforts, and the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service. Director Bromwich's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available from the website listed. Bromwich identified nine key elements of his vision for the future of offshore oil and gas development. These are as follows: First, a well-funded and resourced offshore safety regulator that closely evaluates the relevant risks associated with offshore drilling and other energy development activities in designing its regulations and compliance and enforcement programs. This includes the development of more sophisticated metrics for measuring risk, and designing programs for evaluating those risks and assessing whether industry is managing those risks appropriately. Second, industry performance standards, particularly for the highest risk operations in deepwater and challenging areas such as the Arctic, that cause operators to engage in rigorous and deeply self-critical evaluation of the hazards posed by their operations and the measures implemented to address those hazards. Third, a regulatory agency that has the tools and the resources – both technological and human – to hold all players involved in drilling and production activity in the nation's oceans to high standards and, if there are safety or environmental violations, or an accident, holds all responsible parties accountable. This includes not only those companies that operate leases, the traditional subjects of agency regulation and enforcement, but their contractors and service providers such as the owners of drilling rigs as well. Fourth, enduring institutions that spur continued government and industry focus on and innovation in the areas of risk assessment, technological advances in safety equipment, and emergency response equipment, and further improvements in the effectiveness and availability of subsea containment resources, and oil spill response systems and coordination. Fifth, a resource management agency that develops and takes advantage of all available scientific information and analysis to support balanced decision making with respect to the environmental risks and economic benefits of offshore resource development. Sixth, a regulatory system that is effective in striking appropriate balances and ensuring energy development is conducted safely and in an environmentally responsible manner, and is also more efficient, transparent and responsive. Seventh, a leasing and revenue generation system that encourages the active development of the nation's natural resources made available to industry to provide for the country's energy needs. Eighth, a set of common principles and standards by which companies drilling and producing in the oceans govern their conduct, regardless of where in the world they are operating. And finally, an ocean energy program that includes not only the development of oil and gas resources, but also the aggressive and responsible development of renewable energy sources. The long-term solution to meeting the nation's energy needs must include power derived from clean and renewable sources such as offshore wind. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0419.htm
April 19, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Completes Draft Supplemental EIS for Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale NEW ORLEANS - The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced today the completion of a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 218 in the Western Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. This draft SEIS updates the findings in several previously published EISs covering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as new analyses using the latest available information following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. The Notice of Availability for the draft SEIS is available today for review in Federal Register: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html. Included in the notice is information on how to submit comments and the schedule of public hearings on the draft SEIS. Comments will be used to prepare the Final SEIS for Sale 218. Two public meetings will be held to give all interested parties an opportunity to comment on the draft SEIS. The meetings are scheduled as follows: Houston, Texas: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental, 18700 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77032, beginning at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. CDT. New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, May 19, 2011, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, 1201, Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123, beginning at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. CDT. Federal, state and local government agencies, and other interested parties are requested to send their comments on the SEIS no later than June 6, 2011, by email to WPA Supplemental EIS@boemre.gov or by mail addressed, “Comments on the WPA Draft SEIS,” to Gary D. Goeke, Chief, Environmental Assessment Section, Leasing and Environment (MS 5410), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0419b.htm
April 18, 2011 Return to the top	Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee Sets Goals, Agenda WASHINGTON – Calling the Deepwater Horizon disaster a technological wake-up call for both the offshore industry and government regulators, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today urged the members of the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee (OESC) to work together to help strengthen the nation's offshore drilling safety, well containment, and spill response as we explore new energy frontiers. The inaugural meeting of the OESC also heard from Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich, who emphasized the depth and breadth of the group's research and recommendation mandate. “In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, many have recognized the need for more collaboration among government, industry and academia to develop cutting-edge, effective, and easily deployable technologies for prevention, containment and response,” Secretary Salazar said. “This committee, with some of the nation's brightest minds from all three areas, will facilitate future cooperation and assist the Department in implementing our offshore drilling safety reform agenda.” "The Safety Committee is an important part of our continuing efforts to reduce the risks associated with offshore energy production on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf,” said BOEMRE Director Bromwich. “I look forward to the Committee's recommendations as we continue to move toward safer, more environmentally responsible offshore energy development and production." The group's first meeting included presentations from three expert panels on the findings and recommendations of the President's Commission on the BP Oil Spill, the investigations into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon blowout by the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council Committee and the Chief Counsel of the President's Commission, and the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon containment and response efforts. The OESC is a public federal advisory body composed of the nation's leading scientific, engineering and technical experts. The group consists of 15 members from federal agencies, the offshore oil and gas industry, academia and various research organizations who will advise the Secretary, through the BOEMRE Director, on matters and actions relating to offshore energy safety, including drilling and workplace safety, blowout containment and spill response. The Committee may form technical working groups to conduct various aspects of this analysis and recommend, technical experts from a variety of disciplines in the public and private sectors to serve on each working group. Please see the accompanying website for the full press release to view a listing of committee members from industry, the government and academia. More information about the committee meeting is available at: http://www.boemre.gov/mmab/EnergySafety.htm. A Fact Sheet on oil and gas reform efforts is at: http://on.doi.gov/hqfIbS http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Ocean-Energy-Safety-Advisory-Committee-Sets-Goals-Agenda.cfm
April 18, 2011 Return to the top	US Oil Spill Containment Firms May Work Together-BP Two competing oil spill response systems (Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) and Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc.) developed for the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the massive BP oil spill may eventually join forces, a BP executive said on Monday. At the first meeting of a government advisory panel on offshore drilling issues, the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee panel questioned whether having two separate safety systems was practical when there was limited design expertise in that area. "I think at some point and time in the future...these things will hopefully come together,"James Dupree, Gulf of Mexico regional president for BP, told the panel. Dupree said the two containment systems were designed to address different needs, with Helix an option for smaller firms who may not want to make a large commitment up front. "One of the goals potentially of the MWCC group is to see how we can work together with the Helix group to try to accommodate solutions for all of the Gulf of Mexico," Dupree said. The MWCC system includes a huge "capping stack" of valves and pipes, controlled by underwater robots, that can be placed atop a spewing well in 8,000 feet of water to stop the oil flow. The Helix system involves placing a subsea shut-off device, valves and pipes atop a blowout preventer or well production equipment at the seabed. It would contain and channel oil and gas to production and storage vessels at the surface. "They both bring something to the table at this point,"said Lars Herbst, of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/usa-oil-containment-idUSN1823370820110418
April 17, 2011 Return to the top	House Committee Acts To Stop President's de facto Drilling Moratorium The House Natural Resources Committee marked up three bills on Wednesday that would require the Obama Administration to stop its obstructive tactics and start producing more oil and natural gas from federal Outer Continental Shelf areas. Committee Democrats dragged out the mark-up for nine hours by offering and insisting on recorded votes on a series of amendments to weaken or gut the three bills—H. R. 1229, 1230, and 1231. None of their amendments was adopted. It is expected that the House will pass all three bills in May. Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) plans to introduce additional bills in the next few months to increase domestic oil and gas production on federal lands in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains as part of House Republicans' American Energy Initiative. http://www.globalwarming.org/2011/04/17/this-week-in-the-congress-4/
April 16, 2011 Return to the top	INTERVIEW-Obama's Oil Spill Chief Reflects a Year Later The Obama Administration chose Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen to lead the fight against the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history , he gave BP Plc credit for capping its stricken well but criticized its shoreline cleanup efforts. At the height of the disaster Allen was in charge of the 47,000 workers and 7,000 ships that swarmed the Gulf Coast in the cleanup campaign. Nearly a year later the cleanup continues but Allen is back in retirement. "Everyone wants to know, was there a sole cause, who's accountable, who's responsible for what happened," Allen told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "In my view there is just no simplistic answer here." Even though there were several bungled attempts to cap the well over almost three months, Allen said BP's best work was done at the well site, off the Louisiana coast. Allen criticized BP for fumbling in its efforts to mobilize a small army of contractors and sub-contractors who were charged with cleaning up the oil from the sensitive marshlands of Louisiana to the gleaming beaches of Florida. The fate of the oil that gushed into the ocean is still "a huge question," Allen said. "We need a very robust research effort over the next several years to really understand the fate of the oil in the water." Allen said his own leadership style often involved an act-first-ask-questions-later approach as he pressed ahead with some decisions without clear legal authority. "If I didn't have it, I asked for it," he said. "And sometimes I just went ahead and did it and assumed that if anybody had a problem with it they would tell me." In the end, Allen said he was satisfied with his performance, despite heated calls by some Gulf Coast politicians at the height of the crisis for his dismissal. "I pressed on against some pretty good criticism by local political leaders that I was incompetent," Allen said. "I sleep well at night and I'm satisfied that I worked hard every day." http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN1530332820110416?sp=true
April 15, 2011 Return to the top	Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to Hold First Meeting Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich will deliver remarks during the first public meeting of the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee (OESC) on Monday, April 18, 2011. The meeting will also include presentations from three expert panels on the findings and recommendations of the President's Commission, the investigations into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon blowout by the National Academy of Engineering / National Research Council Committee and the Chief Counsel of the President's Commission, and the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon containment and response efforts. The OESC is a public federal advisory body composed of the nation's leading scientific, engineering and technical experts. Chaired by former Sandia National Laboratory Director Dr. Tom Hunter, the group consists of 15 members from federal agencies, the offshore oil and gas industry, academia and various research organizations who advise the Secretary, through the BOEMRE Director, on issues relating to ocean energy safety. A media availability will be held at 12:45 p.m. EDT for credentialed members of the press. http://www.doi.gov/news/mediaadvisories/Ocean-Energy-Safety-Advisory-Committee-to-Hold-First-Meeting.cfm
April 15, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Spill Containment System Ready to Roll in the Gulf If BP's Macondo well blowout happened today, oil companies say they would be far better prepared to respond than they were a year ago. One reason why sits in an out-of-the-way fabrication yard in northwest Houston. Here, nearly nine months after the idea was hatched, the Marine Well Containment Co.'s $1 billion oil spill-containment system is ready to go — and, with any luck, will never have to be used. On Friday, the company allowed reporters for the first time to get an up-close look at the centerpiece of the system, a giant well-capping stack with the capacity to collect 60,000 barrels a day of oil from a leaking well in 8,000 feet of water. Standing 30 feet tall and weighing 100 tons, the capping stack is designed to be lowered on top of a runaway well. The goal is either shutting it in or, if that can't be done safely, collecting and routing the oil to ships above. In that way, it is very similar to the piece of equipment that ultimately halted oil gushing from Macondo — in mile-deep waters 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana — but not before it bled more than 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days. Marty Massey, CEO of the Marine Well Containment Co., or MWCC, said by contrast its new system can be trucked from Houston and on location at a well site in the Gulf of Mexico “in a matter of days.” The Interior Department now requires oil companies to prove they have access to spill-containment equipment able to withstand even worst-case blowout scenarios as a condition of winning a permit to drill in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. So far, two systems have emerged that pass the test, the one by MWCC and another by Helix Energy Solutions. Both companies are based in Houston. “The most significant thing that's happened in the last year is the confirmation in the ability to cap and contain a well if something was to go wrong,” said Marvin Odum, head of U.S. operations for Shell, one of the largest leaseholders in the gulf, in an interview. Of the 10 deep-water drilling permits regulators have approved since the spill, four rely on the MWCC system to meet spill-fighting requirements and the others Helix. The Helix system, also to operate in 8,000 feet of water and collect 55,000 barrels of oil per day, incorporates equipment actually used in plugging the Macondo well. Helix CEO Owen Kratz said in an interview last week that his company's system could be able to contain a Macondo-like well in 10 to 17 days, versus the time needed to stop Macondo. The MWCC is a nonprofit company formed in July by Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp., Shell and ConocoPhillips, each of which pledged $250 million to develop a purpose-built system for the Gulf. Since then, six more oil companies have joined as members: BP, Apache Corp., Statoil, BHP Billiton, Hess Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Massey said all 10 members hold an equal stake. http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Oil-spill-containment-system-ready-to-roll-in-the-1339334.php
April 14, 2011 Return to the top	Ministerial Forum Seeks Global Solutions to Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containing Blowouts Nations developing offshore oil and gas resources share a responsibility to strengthen their ability to contain deepwater well blowouts and should work collaboratively on research and development initiatives to reduce the risks of oil spills and promote the next generation of containment technologies. That was the guiding principle of the Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment at the Interior Department today, where ministers and senior government officials from more than a dozen nations met with experts from industry and academia to share the lessons learned from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and promote collaborative solutions for deepwater oil spill containment. “As global neighbors, we have a shared responsibility to improve the safety of offshore energy development around the world,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said. “Today's dialogue has laid a strong foundation for international cooperation in the name of safety, and I look forward to continuing to work with these countries to develop advanced containment technologies.” “This historic gathering provided an important opportunity to explore international cooperation on safe and environmentally responsible development of offshore energy resources,” said Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes. “As Interior works to set the gold standard for our deepwater development, we look forward to collaborating with offshore oil producing nations on the development of cutting-edge projects and common standards.” “It is important that we work together with our international colleagues to learn from each other and develop global containment capabilities,” said Michael R. Bromwich, Director of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. “Today was an important first step in this effort, and I hope that we continue this conversation in the future.” Ministers and senior officials from 12 countries and the European Union, as well as representatives from industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations, participated in the day-long Ministerial Forum at Interior headquarters. Nations represented were Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, Russia, as well as the European Union. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Ministerial-Forum-Seeks-Global-Solutions-to-Deepwater-Drilling-Safety-Containing-Blowouts.cfm
April 14, 2011 Return to the top	Offshore Ministerial Forum Emphasizes Prompt Response to Spills Immediate access to technology, equipment, and personnel to promptly cap and contain offshore crude oil spills is essential, participants generally agreed during a day-long international forum at the US Department of the Interior. Governments and the oil and gas industry should be ready to spend money to apply lessons learned from spills if they don't want to be caught unprepared in the future, several panelists maintained. Technologies were developed in response to the Apr. 20, 2010, Macondo well accident and subsequent oil spill which ultimately succeeded, but there is no reason for government regulators and industry to grow complacent, US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich said. Officials from other countries as well as the US emphasized the importance of having the technology, equipment, and personnel ready. Martin Hoffman, Australia's deputy secretary of resources, energy, and tourism, said there was very little, if any, planning or awareness that a situation may arise or need to be handled before the Montara offshore well blew out there in 2009. British offshore producers have determined that having a capping and containment system that could be deployed immediately is essential where they operate, according to Malcolm Webb, chief executive of industry trade association Oil & Gas UK. Former US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Peter K. Reilly, who co-chaired US President Barack Obama's independent oil spill commission, said it was striking, as its investigation proceeded, how little the industry had invested in spill containment technology since the 1989 grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound, especially compared to its outlays for technology to find and produce crude in increasingly deeper waters. Others noted that while technology developed following the Macondo accident was impressive, the response still took too long. Thomas Hunter, who helped lead the science team that worked with BP, the well's operator, on containment issues and who now chairs DOI's new Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee, said both industry and government were unprepared, containment technology existed but was not readily available, information to make key decisions was not available on a timely basis, and the government's command-and-control system was not fully in place. “Equipment and operations can be established to significantly reduce releases if a blowout occurs,” he said. “The response to this spill proved that. We took 87 days. It should take 7-10 days.” http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/1259610730/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/hse/20100/april-2011/offshore-ministerial.html?cmpid=EnlDailyApril152011
April 13, 2011 Return to the top	Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Group Gives Mixed Report Card for Wildlife (CNN) -- Nearly a year after the start of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, some wildlife is recovering, while other species could need significant help, according to a National Wildlife Federation study released Tuesday. The current status of the coastal wetlands -- where a wide variety of animals live or breed -- is classified in the report as "poor," with that classification based on several factors in place before the April 20, 2010, explosion on the drill rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and triggered what scientists say was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Even before the spill, the area was hard hit due to erosion, storms and river channeling. The federation says the spill caused 3,000 miles of beaches and wetlands to be contaminated by varying amounts of oil. Even the efforts to clean it up can cause damage. Combining all factors before and since the spill, the report's author, Douglas Inkley, writes that if there isn't a massive coastal restoration, "Louisiana will have lost an area of coastal wetlands larger than the state of Rhode Island" by 2050. "Experience with other disastrous oil spills tells us that the damage is far from over," the report says. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/04/12/gulf.wildlife.spill/
April 13, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar, Bromwich Visit Rig, Encouraged by Change in Drilling Culture ON BOARD THE ENSCO 8501 — The top U.S. officials in charge of offshore oil and gas exploration on Wednesday got a close-up look at the first deep-water drilling project approved since last year's oil spill. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his chief offshore regulator, Michael Bromwich, spent two hours examining new safety systems - including one spurred by the spill - on the Ensco 8501 rig that is about to begin drilling a bypass well for Noble Energy in the Gulf of Mexico. They touched drilling fluids hauled from pits on the semisubmersible rig, interviewed workers about their jobs and studied the systems used as a last line of defense against surging oil and gas. Afterward, Salazar said he was impressed that "testing capabilities have been significantly enhanced since a year ago." "We're starting to see the beginning of a significant change in the culture that holds great promise," Salazar added. Within days, the Ensco 8501 is set to begin drilling the well in Noble Energy's Santiago prospect 70 miles southeast of Venice, La., resuming work that started just four days before the blowout of BP's Macondo well and destruction of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig last April 20. Houston-based Noble drilled more than 7,000 feet below the seafloor in 6,500 feet of water before it was forced to plug the well under a moratorium on deep-water drilling that took effect weeks after the Macondo blowout. Noble Energy secured its permit to resume work at the site on Feb. 28, becoming the first of 10 deep-water projects blocked by last year's ban that now have gotten the green light. So far, drilling has begun on just one: a well in Shell Oil's Cardamom Deep discovery 137 miles off the Louisiana coast. Workers on the rig - built as a collaboration between Ensco and Noble two and a half years ago - stressed the safety practices onboard. At one point, an Ensco worker reminded Salazar and Bromwich to don protective glasses and earplugs. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7520665.html
April 12, 2011 Return to the top	Gulf's Complexity and Resilience Seen in Studies of Oil Spill In the year since the wellhead beneath the Deepwater Horizon rig began spewing rust-colored crude into the northern Gulf of Mexico, scientists have been working frantically to figure out what environmental harm really came of the largest oil spill in U.S. history. What has emerged in studies so far is not a final tally of damage, but a new window on the complexities of the gulf, and the vulnerabilities and capacities of biological systems in the face of environmental insults. There is no doubt that gulf water, wildlife and wetlands sustained injury when, beginning on April 20 last year, some 4.9 million barrels of oil and 1.84 million gallons of dispersants poured into the waters off Louisiana. But the ecosystem was not passive in the face of this assault. The gulf, which experiences a natural seepage of millions of gallons of oil a year, had the innate capacity to digest some of crude and the methane gas mixed with it. Almost as soon as the well was capped, the deep became cleaner to the eye. By the same token, dozens of miles of marsh still remain blackened by heavy oil, government crews are still grooming away tar balls that wash up ceaselessly on beaches and traces of the dispersants are still found floating in the currents. Biologists are nervously monitoring as yet unexplained dolphin strandings this year, trying to come up with a realistic count of birds and mammals killed during the spill and working to understand what happens when the gulf floor is covered with the remains of oil-eating bacteria. http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20110412/WIRE/110419893/1026/news01?p=1&tc=pg
April 12, 2011 Return to the top	Officials Consider Expanding Offshore Regulation, Oversight Beyond Well Leaseholders WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is exploring whether to expand federal oversight of offshore drilling beyond oil and gas companies to rig suppliers, oil field services providers and other contractors now outside regulators' reach. Michael Bromwich, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, told reporters Tuesday that the existing system imposes artificial limits on what his agency can do to make offshore drilling safer. Its enforcement power now ends with oil and gas companies that hold leases to drill in U.S. waters. "That dramatically limits the scope of our oversight," he said. "It is very important for our regulatory oversight to extend as broadly as possible to all of the entities that are operating offshore and not for us to be artificially limited just to the individual operator that applies for permits and submits exploration plans." Bromwich said that approach may have seemed adequate before the lethal blowout of BP's Macondo well nearly a year ago - which killed 11 and started a multimillion-gallon oil spill - but isn't compatible with the regulatory agenda that arose from the disaster. "We are very interested in pushing that in an aggressive and in a responsible way," he said, "and if that requires us to extend our scope beyond the operator, that's something that needs to be seriously considered." Last year's accident sharpened lawmakers' and regulators' focus on the broad spectrum of companies involved in offshore drilling. According to the presidential commission that investigated the oil spill that began last April 20, the disaster was the result of a series of decisions made by BP and its contractors at the site, including Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and Halliburton, which did cement work. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7519146.html
April 12, 2011 Return to the top	Ocean Energy Bureau Gets Rare Spending Boost in Budget Deal Although Congress agreed to cut nearly $40 billion from non-defense spending on the federal government through the end of September, one agency was spared any slashing: the bureau that oversees offshore drilling. According to the just-released legislation that would keep the government running through Sept. 30, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is slated to get $42 million more in the current fiscal year than it did in fiscal 2010. That includes an additional $5 million for oil spill research and related issues, as well as a $10 million boost the agency secured earlier. The increased spending — about half of the extra money the agency had sought for this fiscal year — comes as administration officials have warned that the bureau was already strained before last year's spill and is now further taxed in vetting offshore drilling applications that must meet an array of new safety and environmental mandates imposed after the disaster. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau Director Michael Bromwich also have stressed that they need more permitting personnel to speed up the process of reviewing drilling applications. “If we don't get the horsepower to be able to process permits under what is now a greater degree of scrutiny, we may never return to the pre-Macondo rate of permitting,” Salazar told reporters earlier this year. “If we get resources and can move forward with the robustness of this agency there is a lot of work to be done.” The presidential commission that investigated the Deepwater Horizon disaster described the agency as chronically starved for resources and insisted that it needs more money to conduct necessary inspections and stay on top of quickly evolving and advancing offshore technology. “There are additional capacity questions that need to be filled at the Interior Department,” said Frances Beinecke, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a member of the presidential spill panel. “They have to have the people and the resources to provide the oversight. They are still starved, and Congress hasn't acted.” The new spending boost lasts until Sept. 30, when fiscal 2011 ends. A bigger congressional battle looms over government spending for fiscal 2012, which begins on Oct. 1. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/12/ocean-energy-bureau-gets-rare-spending-boost-in-budget-deal/
April 08, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Announces New Key Positions to Further Regulatory Reform The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today formally announced its search for qualified leaders to fill two senior positions to further offshore oil and gas regulatory reform efforts. The first position is the Director of the Offshore Training Center, and the second is the Division Chief for the Oil Spill Response Division. Both positions are being advertised nationally to recruit the most qualified professionals to establish new organizations in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), one of two new bureaus being created as part of the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service. BSEE is the new bureau responsible for regulation and enforcement of offshore activities. For more information, go to: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=119590. “The Offshore Training Center and the Oil Spill Response Division will address a number of the regulatory weaknesses that have been identified and highlighted following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “We are looking for leaders who are technically skilled and experienced, and who have a strong commitment to public service, who can lead our ongoing efforts to enhance the safety of offshore exploration and production.” The Director for the National Offshore Training Center will be responsible for developing the bureau's training policy and training programs to maintain and improve the technical and professional capabilities of offshore inspections and compliance personnel. Duties of the position include establishing national training strategies and formulating training policy related to inspections and compliance functions and programs. The Division Chief for the Oil Spill Response Division will be responsible for the review and creation of policy, guidance, direction and oversight of activities related to the agency's oil spill response program. Duties of the position include developing policy and regulations related to oil spill response, and oversight of the oil spill response program to ensure integrity and consistency. The Division Chief will also be responsible for the coordination of internal and external reviews of industry oil spill response plans to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and coordination of oil spill drill activities. For instructions on how to apply, and to learn about other career opportunities with BOEMRE, please visit: http://www.boemre.gov/jobs/index.htm. To learn more about BOEMRE's comprehensive regulatory reform efforts, please visit: http://www.boemre.gov/ReorganizationRegulatoryReform.htm. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0408.htm
April 08, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves Operations for Tenth Deepwater Well The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved a deepwater permit for the drilling of a tenth well that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to drill a new well for Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC Well #1 in Walker Ridge Block 969 in 7,813 feet water depth, approximately 219 miles off the Louisiana shoreline, south of Houma, Louisiana. “This permit allows the drilling of the tenth deepwater well since industry demonstrated in mid-February that it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “Permit applications that satisfy our more rigorous safety and environmental standards and that demonstrate the necessary containment capabilities will be approved; those that do not will be rejected. That has been our approach and will continue to be our approach.” Statoil's Well #1 is a new well. The operator had a rig under contract and an approved permit to drill a new well when activities were halted due to the temporary drilling suspensions imposed following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of its approval process, the Bureau reviewed Statoil's containment capability available for the specific well proposed in the permit application. Statoil has contracted with the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) to use MWCC's capping stack to stop the flow of oil should a blowout occur. The capabilities of the capping stack meet the requirements that are specific to the characteristics of the proposed well. BOEMRE has worked diligently to help industry adapt to and comply with new, rigorous safety practices. These standards ensure that oil and gas development continues, while also incorporating key lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This new permit meets the new safety regulations and information requirements in Notices to Lessees N06 and N10, and the Interim Final Safety Rule. This will be the final news release that BOEMRE will issue to announce individual approvals of deepwater drilling permits. For a list of well types, pending and approved permits (including links to download copies of approved permits), and information on new safety regulations, go to: http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/homepg/offshore/safety/well_permits.html. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0408a.htm
April 08, 2011 Return to the top	Bromwich: Permitting Shouldn't Wait for BOP Improvements Federal regulators are considering new mandates to strengthen emergency equipment known as blowout preventers, but an Obama administration official insisted that deep-water drilling shouldn't be held up in the meantime. “You can always improve the equipment that is being used,” said Michael Bromwich, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. “But that doesn't mean you bring activities to a standstill until you've enhanced those rules.” Bromwich made his comments on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show last night, as he defended the bureau's recent approval of nine deep-water projects that were halted after last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At issue is whether the government should authorize more deep-water drilling, after a four-month examination of the blowout preventer used at BP's failed Macondo well revealed that it was unable to slash off-center drill pipe, seal the well hole and trap oil underground. That report raised new questions about whether blowout preventers can be counted on as a last line of defense against surging oil and gas, particularly if it is already flowing out of a well. Bromwich said he was confident that new safety and environmental rules for offshore drilling have already made the practice much safer than it was before the spill. Waiting for new blowout preventer standards — imposed under a federal rulemaking process that could take a year or more — wouldn't be prudent, he said. “There is an insufficient basis for saying ‘let's stop things in their tracks for the one or two years that it takes to develop better blowout preventer rules,'” Bromwich said. “I think that would be a huge mistake and would be contrary to the best interests of this country.” Bromwich's appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show demonstrated how he and other drilling regulators face criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Republicans and industry advocates have cast the Obama administration as moving slowly to restart offshore drilling after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. In response, the House Natural Resources Committee is set next Wednesday to vote on three bills that would accelerate offshore drilling. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/08/bromwich-permitting-shouldnt-wait-for-bop-improvements/
April 08, 2011 Return to the top	ATP Gains Second Deepwater Permit from BOEMRE Operator ATP has gained a second deepwater drilling permit for the US Gulf of Mexico after the drilling moratorium there was lifted. Permission has been granted by the Bureau for Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) – the US government agency which replaced the Minerals Management Service – for ATP to return to Green Canyon block 300 to complete a well on its Clipper prospect which was first drilled back in 2006. BOEMRE has given a green light to ATP to return to its CG 300 Clipper number 2 well , in a water depth of 3,454 feet – 1,053 metres – which was originally drilled in 2006 and encountered a gas reservoir in a sidetrack. ATP is planning to return to the well this year with the Diamond Ocean Victory rig and complete it for production. Earlier ATP received a green light for another deepwater well from BOEMRE, for a fourth well in Mississippi Canyon block 941. But the US Bureau for Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has been criticised by the US Offshore Marine Service Services Association for issuing new approvals only for operations which had already been permitted before to the imposition of the deepwater drilling moratorium in the US Gulf of Mexico following the Macondo well spill last year. http://www.offshore247.com/news/art.aspx?id=18768
April 08, 2011 Return to the top	Blowout Preventer Manufacturer Questions Deepwater Horizon Forensic Report A top executive at the company that built the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer expressed major doubts Friday about recent theories of why the massive subsea device failed to shut off BP's blown out Gulf oil well last year. David McWhorter, Cameron International's vice president for engineering and quality control, spent several months helping advise the forensic examiners who were hired by the government to inspect his company's failed BOP, but he said during testimony before a federal investigative panel in Metairie on Friday that he had major questions about those forensic findings. Those findings were released two weeks ago by Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian company hired by federal investigators to produce what was essentially a coroner's report to help government agencies figure out what stopped the BOP from shutting off the worst oil gusher in American history. Det Norske Veritas concluded that oil and gas shooting up through a 5.5-inch drill pipe at extremely high pressures caused the pipe to bend, knocking it off-center in the middle of the BOP. Without a centered pipe, the device couldn't use its powerful slicing rams to cut and seal the pipe shut. The implication of those findings is that the blowout preventer wasn't designed by Cameron to handle such intense emergency conditions. Cameron said it built the BOP to industry standards, but those standards never conceived of a bowed pipe. And standardized tests of BOPs never included a check to see whether the rams could cut off-center pipe. But under questioning earlier this week, Det Norske Veritas officials acknowledged that they had no physical evidence of the pipe bending and that the elastic bowing of the pipe was simply their theory of what happened based on modeling. Seizing on that, McWhorter faulted the examiners for not presenting several other things that he believes could have gone wrong to prevent the rams from cutting properly -- things that wouldn't have required the pipe to bend and would have resulted from poor maintenance of the blowout preventer's components by the rig's owner, Transocean. The Cameron executive questioned whether there could have been enough pressure to buckle the pipe, which by Det Norske Veritas' own calculations, would have required an incredible 113,000 pounds per square inch of force. McWhorter said the examiners also ignored the possibility that the critical blind shear rams didn't work because there simply wasn't enough power to get them to close fully. He said a normal level of 1,500 psi might have initially triggered the rams instead of the much higher triggering pressures that should have been employed in an emergency. "If that happened, it would not have been enough force to cut the pipe (even if centered)," McWhorter said. "It's possible then that the pipe was only dented, not sheared all the way through." He said hydraulic controls might also have simply "not been up to the game that day." And he noted that the "deadman" function that is supposed to automatically close the rams and disconnect the rig from the well when hydraulics, electricity and communications are all lost can be manually armed or disarmed. He suggested it wouldn't have worked if it wasn't armed when the blowout happened, but he didn't know whether it was or was not. It's been difficult for investigators to get a clear picture of why the "fail-safe" mechanisms in the BOP didn't work, or, for that matter, when various functions of the BOP activated. Specialists spent two weeks after the explosions trying to get rams and valves to work using remote-controlled submarines, which meant the blowout preventer was not in the same position as it was on April 20, by the time it was brought to the surface in September. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/blowout_preventer_manufacturer.html
April 07, 2011 Return to the top	Judge who Scrapped Offshore Ban Rules Feds have ‘Broad Authority' on Drilling A federal judge in New Orleans rejected oil industry arguments that the U.S. government exceeded its authority by imposing new permitting requirements on developmental drilling in the western Gulf of Mexico. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who scrapped the Obama Administration's original deep-water drilling moratorium as arbitrary and overly broad, today sided with the government, ruling that federal law gives regulators “broad authority” to oversee offshore drilling. “Ultimately, then, an agency's interpretation is permissible so long as it is reasonable,” Feldman said in a decision that allows other industry challenges to the agency's drilling policy to continue. Ensco Offshore Co., a unit of London-based Ensco Plc, along with other oil industry companies, sued Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar last year over the agency's decision to require the drilling permits after the Deepwater Horizon rig sank while drilling a well off the Louisiana coast for BP Plc last April. The companies complained that, in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, regulators imposed new permit requirements on development and production wells, which involve drilling additional holes into previously discovered underground reservoirs. Before the spill, such permits and production plans were only required for exploratory, or initial, wells or for drilling in waters near Florida. Feldman said he'll continue to hear claims that regulators are intentionally delaying the industry's return to deep-water drilling by rescinding previously approved permits, imposing new permit requirements, and “taking much longer to review and approve permit applications than in the past.” Today's ruling doesn't affect a separate issue in the complex legal challenge, in which Feldman ordered regulators to act on seven stalled deep-water drilling permits within 30 days. Regulators appealed that order, and the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans granted an emergency stay. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/07/judge-who-scrapped-drill-ban-rules-feds-have-broad-authority-to-oversee-offshore-drilling/
April 07, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves Operations for Ninth Deepwater Well The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved a deepwater permit for the drilling of a ninth well that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to sidetrack for Murphy Exploration & Production Company Well #A008 in Green Canyon Block 338 in 3,325 feet water depth, approximately 170 miles southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana. "This permit allows the drilling of the ninth deepwater well since industry demonstrated that it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “We will continue to review and approve permits that satisfy our more rigorous safety and environmental standards and that demonstrate the necessary containment capabilities.” Murphy's Well #A008 is a sidetrack well. A sidetrack well is drilled to a new geologic target or a new location within the original target from the existing wellbore. The operator had a rig on location when drilling preparation activities were halted due to the temporary drilling suspensions imposed following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of its approval process, the Bureau reviewed Murphy's containment capability available for the specific well proposed in the permit application. Murphy has contracted with the Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) to use HWCG's capping stack to stop the flow of oil should a blowout occur. The capabilities of the capping stack meet the requirements that are specific to the characteristics of the proposed well. BOEMRE has worked diligently to help industry adapt to and comply with new, rigorous safety practices. These standards ensure that oil and gas development continues, while also incorporating key lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This new permit meets the new safety regulations and information requirements in Notices to Lessees N06 and N10, and the Interim Final Safety Rule. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0407.htm
April 06, 2011 Return to the top	BOP was Overdue for Maintenance The Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer hadn't been disassembled and refurbished since the rig was commissioned in 2001, Jason Mathews of the BOEMRE, said today during an investigative hearing in Metairie, Louisiana. Under Transocean's rules, the blowout preventer should have been overhauled no later than the summer of 2006, Mathews said, according to a Bloomberg report. The blowout preventer's blades failed to sever and seal the pipe from BP's well during last year's disaster that killed 11 rig workers, sank the vessel and spewed enough crude into the sea to fill two supertankers, according to a study commissioned by a joint US Coast Guard-Interior Department panel. Mathews is one of eight members of the panel. The blowout preventer wasn't in need of an overhaul, Michael Fry, a Transocean manager who oversees subsea equipment used on all of the company's Gulf of Mexico rigs, told the panel. “If it's not found to be outside its operating tolerances, that piece of equipment stays in service,” Fry said in response to questioning by Mathews. “There's not a reason to send it to the shop for a major overhaul if there's nothing wrong with the equipment.” Fry testified today that if there had been any indications that the blowout preventer was defective, the senior Transocean manager aboard the Deepwater Horizon, Jimmy Harrell, would have halted drilling operations and called for help. “If Jimmy thought there was anything wrong with the BOP, he would have shut it down,” Fry said. A study of the blowout preventer, carried out by Det Norske Veritas, concluded that a lack of maintenance work wasn't a factor in the failure of the blades to crimp the pipe. Houston-based Cameron International made the blowout preventer used by the Deepwater Horizon. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article251103.ece
April 06, 2011 Return to the top	US Republicans Target May For Vote On Bills Requiring Oil And Gas Leases WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Republicans are targeting next month for a preliminary vote on a set of bills that would direct federal regulators to lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Virginia coast for oil and gas drilling and require the government to act quickly on permits to drill. Republicans are pushing the bills to add "what we think is certainty into the process of developing these resources," Rep. Doc Hastings (R., Wash.), chairman of the House Natural Resources committee and a central backer of the bills, said Wednesday at a hearing in which Republicans built their case for the legislation. Republicans are "tentatively" looking to "mark up" the legislation next month, said Rep. Doug Lamborn (R., Colo.), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and hosted Wednesday's hearing. A "mark up" is one step in clearing the way for the full Republican-controlled House to vote on the measure. Republicans have also introduced similar legislation in the Democrat- controlled Senate, where its prospects are less clear. House Democrats criticized the proposals Wednesday, saying they wouldn't do enough to ensure offshore drilling is being conducted safely in the wake of last year's explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11 and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. One bill requiring the Interior Department to say 'yes' or 'no' to a drilling permit within 60 days may not give the agency enough time to evaluate permits under new standards adopted after Deepwater Horizon, said Rep. Rush Holt (D., N.J.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee. "The result of the majority's legislation could be to hamper new permits being issued," Holt said, suggesting that the administration might have to reject permits if it does not have enough time. If Interior has not made a decision on the permit within 60 days, the permit would be deemed "approved" under the Hastings bill. "This committee and this congress should be enacting real reform to ensure that these disasters never happen again," Holt said. "It's hard to think that before we even enact legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling, which we badly need, we would put more economies, more beaches, and potentially more lives at risk from another spill." One of the bills would direct Interior to move forward with a lease in the central Gulf of Mexico within four months and a lease in the western Gulf of Mexico within 8 months. A lease sale off the Virginia coast would have to occur within a year, and the administration would have to create a five-year lease plan that included areas with substantial oil and gas reserves. Hastings noted that the bills would require companies to demonstrate the capacity to contain and respond to a spill and to meet "critical safety system requirements, including blowout prevention." An undersea "blowout" led to the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon. "To suggest that these bills ignore safety I think misses the point entirely," he said. http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201104061247dowjonesdjonline000505&title=us-republicans-target-may-for-vote-on-bills-requiring-oil-and-gas-leases
April 05, 2011 Return to the top	Transocean's Work Schedule Change Questioned by Lawmakers Top House Democrats are asking federal officials to investigate whether Transocean's decision to go to longer, three-week work shifts may have contributed to last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster. Seven months before the explosion on Transocean's Deepwater Horizon rig, the drilling contractor switched its workers from a hitch schedule with 14 days on rigs followed by 14 days onshore to one with 21-day rotations. According to the lawmakers, the “apparent cost-saving decision made by Transocean” had a negative impact on rig crews, who complained of fatigue at the end of the 21-day work periods offshore, according to a survey of the company's workforce. “We believe Transocean's decision to move to the longer shift schedule should be closely examined,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. “Six of the 11 people who died aboard the Deepwater Horizon were on day 20 of their 21-day shift and a seventh was on day 19.” The pair of lawmakers directed their request for an investigation into the scheduling change in letters today to the Chemical Safety Board and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which is probing the disaster in conjunction with the Coast Guard. Waxman and DeGette cited documents marked classified that show the schedule shift saved Transocean about $200,000 per rig per year — or about $2.5 million annually for its entire fleet. The extra week of offshore time for workers translated to fewer flights on and off the rigs. A Transocean spokesman defended the schedule change, and said it offered benefits for both the company and its workers. According to Transocean spokesman Brian Kennedy: “Staffing drilling rigs on a 21-day-on/21-day-off schedule provides a variety of benefits for both employees and the company, including enhanced continuity of operations due to fewer crew changes, reduced crew travel, more contiguous time for crew at home and longer onshore intervals allowing for more comprehensive training.” But an assessment of workers on the Deepwater Horizon, conducted in March 2010 by Lloyd's Register and obtained by the lawmakers, found that employees were dealing with “fatigue issues” under the new 21-day cycles, especially during the final seven-day stretch on board the rig. According to the assessment, as quoted by Waxman and DeGette, one manager on the Deepwater Horizon said there was a “big difference in their attitudes on the third week. . . . It's mentally draining and I've got to watch my guys closer.” Another manager said the policy was “definitely increasing the risk of an incident.” http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/04/lawmakers-demand-inquiry-into-transoceans-work-schedule-change/
April 05, 2011 Return to the top	BP Denies it Has Liability Under Both Oil Pollution and Clean Water Acts NEW ORLEANS (CN) - BP filed an answer in Federal Court on Monday in response to the federal government's lawsuit seeking damages for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, under the Clean Water and Oil Pollution Acts. BP wrote in response that the government's "request for a declaratory judgment regarding alleged damages under OPA constitutes improper claim splitting." BP admits the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon caused the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but says the amount of oil spilled from its Macondo well is still unknown. According to the government's December complaint, BP and other oil spill defendants will be subject fines of $1,100 to $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled. In its answer, BP denies that the fines necessarily apply on a per-barrel-spilled basis. It says the fines could be assessed at a per-day-spilled rate. BP says the United States cannot charge a maximum penalty of $4,300 per barrel because another, lower estimate of the maximum penalty already has been stated by a federal agency. BP admits that the Deepwater Horizon rig is still sitting on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, and that the Macondo well was an offshore facility within the meaning of the Clean Water Act - but it denies it was an offshore facility within the meaning of the Oil Pollution Act. The government's December lawsuit was the first suit brought by the United States after the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The Justice Department's investigation of the oil spill is continuing; still unknown is whether criminal charges may be filed against BP and the other oil spill defendants. As the catastrophic oil spill began, BP said that 5,000 barrels of oil were flowing a day from its broken Macondo well. Later estimates by scientists independent of BP placed the flow rate more likely between 30,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. The federal government estimates that more than 200 million gallons of oil (4.9 million barrels) spewed into the Gulf over a period of 87 days. The government's original complaint said that millions of gallons of oil had been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico and adjoining shoreline. In answer, BP Exploration and Production (BPXP) "admits that a still undetermined amount of oil was discharged into and upon waters of the Gulf of Mexico," but said the specific amount remains unknown. "BPXP admits that plaintiff refers to the Clean Water Act, the full text of which speaks for itself, and that plaintiff seeks Clean Water Act penalties for each barrel of oil that the defendants discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. BPXP denies that penalties must always be based in part on the number of barrels of oil discharged, as the Clean Water Act also contemplates courts assessing penalties based on the number of days of the discharge," BP wrote in its 36-page Answer. BP says that even if the government were to prove gross negligence or willful misconduct at trial, the maximum penalty for which BP can be held liable is $4,000 per barrel, not $4,300, as the U.S. complaint states. BP says the Coast Guard's and EPA's inflation adjustments under Clean Water Act disagree with one another, and "pursuant to due process fair notice principals, only the lesser inflation-adjusted penalty number could ever be applied." As for the U.S. action having been brought under the Declaratory Judgment Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, BP "denies the plaintiff has stated a valid claim or in entitled to any relief" under those acts. http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/04/05/35523.htm
April 05, 2011 Return to the top	Interior Department to Seek Continual Improvements in BOPs WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department will continue to seek improvements in blow-out preventers, but it does not appear that the latest findings about the failure of the BOP on the Deepwater Horizon well will slow the department's return to permitting deepwater drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department instituted new rules for blowout preventers in the aftermath of last year's disaster, and "as a result of the investigation that was just concluded through the forensic examination, we will also be looking to develop some additional improvements with respect to BOPs and those will mostly be in the areas of ... actuation and effectiveness relative to the operation of the blind shear rams." Salazar was referring to the conclusions of an autopsy of the Deepwater Horizon BOP, conducted by the Norwegian firm Det Norske Veritas, which found that the BOP's blind shear rams, designed to cut the well's drill pipe in an emergency so that the well can be sealed, could not operate as intended because the pipe had buckled. Salazar made his comments in a conference call with reporters from Mexico City where, joined by Deputy Secretary David Hayes, and William Reilly, the co-chair of the National Oil Spill Commission, he was meeting with Mexican government and energy officials about deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and sharing the lessons of the BP spill. Hayes said that ministers and senior government officials from at least a dozen nations -- including Mexico and Brazil -- will be gathering in Washington April 14 at the Interior Department for a discussion of developments in containing potential deepwater blowouts, and to "share information we have learned from our searing experience with the Macondo well." On the BOP issue, Hayes said "we will be working with the new Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to get their input on proposed new rules, and we're looking in all likelihood to move ahead with advance notice of proposed new rule-making and be requesting information from all sources about what sort of upgrades are appropriate for blowout preventers ... in the coming months." The Safety Advisory Committee, created by Interior, will hold its first public meeting on April 18. After the release of the forensic analysis of the Deepwater Horizon BOP, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, wrote Interior asking whether the department would be halting permitting activities until it has a chance to review all blowout preventers now deployed in U.S. waters. Interior has approved eight deepwater well permits since Feb. 17, noting that the industry has now demonstrated its capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills. There has been no indication that the recent report on the Deepwater Horizon BOP will interrupt the department's issuance of new permits. They have not yet responded to Markey's letter. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/interior_will_seek_continual_i.html
April 04, 2011 Return to the top	BOP Investigator Admits to Fault in Model Used in Forensic Examination The maker of the blowout preventer that failed to shut in BP's blown-out Gulf oil well last year took aim at a forensic examination of its equipment, raising significant concerns about the models used by the inspectors. The inspectors at Det Norske Veritas (DNV) used computer models to determine that the massive blowout preventer failed to stop the blowout because it couldn't cut drill pipe that had shifted to the side. The implication was that the BOP never had a chance and wasn't designed to handle the intense pressures of a deepwater blowout. But a lawyer for Cameron International, the BOP's manufacturer, blasted the project manager for the Norwegian company hired to perform the autopsy during testimony in the Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation hearings that reconvened in Metairie Monday. The lawyer, David Jones, showed that a model used by examiners at DNV depicted an impossibility: In running the computer models of how a key set of slicers and seals would have malfunctioned, it placed the drill pipe where oil was flowing in a place where it couldn't have been. The model showed the drill pipe inside a wall of the BOP, and Neil Thompson, the project manager for DNV, was forced to admit it was an error in the model placement. That, combined with Thompson's acknowledgement that he'd "never laid eyes on a blowout preventer" before he began this examination, called into doubt some of the most critical findings of the report. Thompson also admitted that his team never conducted tests to determine flow pressures or figure out what forces caused the pipe to deflect inside the BOP and muck up the works. Some BOP experts have questioned why a set of pipe that was stuck in the BOP for two days after the accident would have shot up above the machinery after the rig sank. Thompson stumbled when Jones asked him repeatedly about how Det Norske Veritas determined a valve called the "upper annular" was closed. Testimony from surviving rig workers stated a different valve was the one closed. Joining Jones in his skepticism of the forensic report was BP lawyer Richard Godfrey. He wanted to know whether there was any physical evidence that the 5.5-inch, heavy-duty drill pipe bowed in the middle, knocking it off-center. That's a key hypothesis of the inspectors' report. Thompson said there was no physical evidence of the elastic bowing of the pipe. He said it was recovered as a straight, 28-foot piece because it would have straightened out after it was cut, about two days after the accident. Godfrey suggested that nobody in the industry had ever seen such "elastic buckling" of a drill pipe before. But Thompson said it's a commonly understood concept of physics. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/bop_investigator_admits_to_fau.html
April 04, 2011 Return to the top	BOEM Denies BP Deal The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has refuted a Sunday Times report which said it had struck a deal with BP to allow the oil company to resume deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reported. The newspaper had said BP was understood to have granted 24-hour access to government overseers and had agreed to safety requirements more stringent than the tougher rules imposed after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded a year ago, to win the backing of the regulator. The US drilling agency, which issues permits to drill based on the merits of applications, told Reuters there was no agreement with BP. The newspaper had said, without citing sources, that BP would only be able to maintain or increase production on existing platforms and not drill exploration wells when drilling resumed in July. BP declined to comment on the report. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article250720.ece
April 01, 2011 Return to the top	Chu says Drilling Safety in Gulf ‘Going in the Right Direction' Energy Secretary Steven Chu this morning praised energy companies for improving safety measures for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Speaking to reporters at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor, Chu said the rate of applications for licenses — and licenses granted by the federal government — is picking up after a drilling moratorium that followed the Deepwater Horizon disaster a year ago. Drilling operators “realize it's in their best interest to drill safely,” Chu said. “It's going in the right direction.” Texas lawmakers have complained that onerous federal regulations have created a de facto moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. But President Obama and his administration have been aggressively pushing back against those allegations. “Any claim that my administration is responsible for gas prices because we've ‘shut down' oil production — any claim like that — is simply untrue,” Obama said in an energy policy address Wednesday. “It might make for a useful sound bite, but it doesn't track with reality.” Chu said that dozens of offshore licenses have been granted since the moratorium (all but a few for shallow water drilling). He said the companies have provided the government with newly required plans to contain any spill that might take place. “That's why you're seeing a dramatic increase in the licenses being issued in the past months,” he said. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/01/chu-says-drilling-safety-in-gulf-going-in-the-right-direction/
March 31, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Calls for Public Comment to Inform New Deepwater Environmental Assessment The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced that public comment is invited with respect to two Environmental Assessments (EA) for Exploration Plans (EP). Both EPs involve deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico and were completed in accordance with new safety and environmental standards implemented since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BOEMRE received from Shell Offshore, Inc. a Supplemental EP which includes five proposed exploratory wells in approximately 7,160 to 7,259 feet water depth and information on three previously approved wells, approximately 72 miles offshore Louisiana. The second plan received is a Revised EP from Statoil, Inc. and includes two proposed exploratory wells in approximately 7,242 to 7,684 feet water depth and information on one previously approved well, approximately 132 miles offshore Texas. Consistent with federal regulations, an EP is deemed “submitted” once all supporting materials and documentation has been provided. Once a plan is deemed submitted, BOEMRE has 30 calendar days to analyze and evaluate it. These are the only two pending exploration plans deemed submitted at this time. As part of its review, the bureau will prepare an EA specific to the proposed exploration activities. Upon completion of the technical and environmental review, BOEMRE must decide whether to approve the plan, require modifications, or disapprove the plan. An exploration plan describes all exploration activities planned by the operator for a specific lease or leases, including the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and other relevant information that needs to meet important safety standards. A revised EP involves changes to proposed activities already included in a previously approved plan while a supplemental EP involves proposed activities on an oil and gas lease that were not included in the operator's original EP. The 30-day time frame for review includes a 10-day public comment period to allow an opportunity to review and comment on the issues that should be considered by BOEMRE in preparing the EA for the plan. In an effort to make the comment opportunity more accessible, the public can both view and provide comments on agency documents at: http://www.boemre.gov/PublicComment.htm. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0331a.htm
March 31, 2011 Return to the top	Transocean Employees Resisting Oil Spill Inquiry Three Transocean employees are resisting subpoenas to testify before a federal panel investigating why critical safety equipment on the company's drilling rig failed to stop last year's oil spill. The employees and their attorneys have not responded to government subpoenas issued more than two weeks ago and have signaled that they will not appear before the inquiry, led by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Michael Bromwich, the bureau director, called the lack of cooperation “unacceptable” in a letter Thursday to Transocean CEO Steven Newman that was obtained by The Houston Chronicle. But a Transocean attorney said late Thursday in a letter to Bromwich that two of the subpoenaed employees have individual attorneys and are therefore outside the company's control. Transocean separately has offered to provide an expert in the emergency equipment known as blowout preventers for questioning during next week's hearings, said the lawyer, Steven Roberts. “The company has cooperated and continues to cooperate with every investigation into the causes of the spill,” Roberts wrote in the letter. “Everyone at Transocean views the company's cooperation with investigations into the Macondo incident as both a corporate and a moral imperative.” The joint investigation panel has held more than 20 days and six rounds of hearings since the April 20 blowout at BP's Macondo well that killed 11 workers and unleashed the nation's worst oil spill. The inquiry, now in its final stages, is set next week to delve into the failure of the blowout preventer at Macondo to successfully cut through drill pipe and seal off the well hole, locking oil and gas underground. A four-month examination of the equipment concluded that the force of surging oil and gas caused drill pipe in the BOP to buckle and be pushed askew, thwarting the device's sharp rams from slashing through the pipe and sealing the well hole. According to the forensic analysis, neither human nor mechanical error was to blame for the blowout preventer's failure to stop gushing oil and gas at the well. Roberts noted that the results of the testing confirm “that the BOP was in proper operating condition at the time of the incident and that its component parts ‘functioned as intended,'” even though “high-pressure flow from the well created conditions that exceeded the scope of (the) BOP's design constraints.” Bromwich suggested that the subpoenaed Transocean employees were key to shedding more light on the BOP's performance. Others on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig or affiliated with the Macondo well also have refused to testify during the Coast Guard and ocean energy bureau's 11-month-long probe, including at least one BP worker who invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself last July. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/03/31/bromwich-transocean-employees-resisting-oil-spill-inquiry/
March 30, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves Deepwater Drilling Permit for New Well included in First Approved Exploration Plan The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved a deepwater drilling permit for a new well that was described in Shell Offshore Inc's recently approved Exploration Plan. The proposed well was also considered in the Site-Specific Environmental Assessment (SEA) completed as part of the plan review. In order to receive the permit approval, Shell complied with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a permit to drill a new well for Shell's Well #DC001 in Garden Banks Block 427 in 2,721 ft. water depth, approximately 137 miles off the Louisiana coastline, south of Lafayette. Today's permit approval represents a culmination of a broad and comprehensive review process involving an exploration plan, a site-specific environmental assessment, and the application for the drilling permit - all of which complied with our rigorous safety and environmental standards,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “The completion of this process further demonstrates that we are proceeding as quickly as our resources allow to properly regulate offshore oil and gas operations in the most safe and environmentally-responsible manner.” All offshore wells are identified in either an exploration or development plan, which require approval prior to drilling permits being issued. Shell's supplemental Exploration Plan, which includes Well #DC001, was approved March 21, 2011, as the first new deepwater exploration plan approved since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. As part of the plan's review process, BOEMRE prepared a SEA to examine Shell's proposed exploration activities in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the implementation of departmental and bureau regulations. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0330.htm
March 29, 2011 Return to the top	BP Managers Said to Face U.S. Manslaughter Charges Review Federal prosecutors are considering whether to pursue manslaughter charges against BP Plc (BP/) managers for decisions made before the Gulf of Mexico oil well explosion last year that killed 11 workers and caused the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history, according to three people familiar with the matter. U.S. investigators also are examining statements made by leaders of the companies involved in the spill -- including former BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward -- during congressional hearings last year to determine whether their testimony was at odds with what they knew, one of the people said. All three spoke on condition they not be named because they weren't authorized to discuss the case publicly. Charging individuals would be significant to environmental- safety cases because it might change behavior, said Jane Barrett, a law professor at the University of Maryland. “They typically don't prosecute employees of large corporations,” said Barrett, who spent 20 years prosecuting environmental crimes at the federal and state levels. “You've got to prosecute the individuals in order to maximize, and not lose, the deterrent effect.” The Justice Department in June said it opened criminal and civil investigations into the spill, which began after an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig that London-based BP leased from Transocean Ltd. (RIG), of Vernier, Switzerland. The department filed a civil suit against BP in December and hasn't filed criminal charges. It's continuing to investigate. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-29/bp-managers-said-to-face-u-s-review-for-manslaughter-charges.html
March 29, 2011 Return to the top	Coast Guard Quietly Releases Report on Review of its BP Gulf Oil Spill 2010 Response St. Petersburg, Florida -- The Coast Guard has quietly released a new report. It's an independent review of how the agency handled last year's oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. There was no press conference and no fanfare surrounding its release. Why? The short answer: It's critical of the Coast Guard in several key areas. Responding to the BP oil spill was not expected to be easy, and the report makes that point. The spill was unprecedented, leading the Coast Guard to create procedures on the fly. Plus, the Coast Guard had to work with more than a dozen other agencies, plus a private company -- BP -- through months of intensive effort. Still, the report found several areas where the Coast Guard dropped the ball in coordinating the response and in getting ready ahead of time. The report, called an "Incident Specific Preparedness Review," came from a panel of eleven different experts. Their key concerns: A lack of planning and stockpiling from the agency whose motto means "Always Prepared." In particular, the report finds the Coast Guard didn't work enough in advance with local folks to predict future problems and spot environmentally sensitive areas. Not turning to scientific experts for help on figuring out how much oil was really flowing or the effects of pumping dispersants into the Gulf. And, the issue that may be the most concerning: the Coast Guard doesn't consistently learn its lessons from disasters and practice drills. The report also says the Coast Guard dramatically overestimated the amount of oil that could be picked up by ships skimming the surface. In the end, only 3 or 4 percent of the oil was scooped up that way, despite an armada of boats. There were some key positives in the report. The decision to burn oil slicks on the surface -- far out at sea -- was very effective. That process, called "in situ burning," was done a total of more than 400 times. Plus, the report found that BP and the Coast Guard did cooperate and work well together. However, there was no sign the Coast Guard backed down from confronting BP or let up on its responsibility to look out for the public's best interest. http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/184084/250/Coast-Guard-quietly-releases-report-on-oil-spill-response
March 29, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar to Host Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment Secretary of the Interior Salazar will be hosting a "Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment" on April 14, 2011, in Washington DC. Below you will find the proposed agenda. The Department has also provided a list of accommodations for those traveling from out of town and additional useful information. See the associated website for these additional details. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Main Interior Building, where the Forum will be held. The Department recommends participants use DC's Metro system or take a taxi to the Forum, as parking is not available. 8:00 a.m. - Registration 9:00 a.m. - Welcome and Introduction: Secretary Ken Salazar 9:15 a.m. - Opening Remarks: Government Representatives 10:00 a.m. - "Lessons Learned: The Need for Better Well Containment Capabilities Worldwide": Regulators and industry experts will discuss the lessons learned from recent blowouts. The presentations will be followed by an interactive discussion. 12:00 p.m. - Break 1:30 p.m. - "Promoting Next Generation Well Containment Technologies": A panel of experts will discuss existing containment technologies and offer suggestions for promoting R&D and international collaboration. The panel presentation will be followed by an interactive discussion. 4:00 p.m. - Closing Remarks: Government Representatives 5:00 p.m. - Meeting Adjourns http://www.doi.gov/whatwedo/energy/mfodc2011/index.cfm
March 29, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE to Aggressively Recruit Environmental Scientists WASHINGTON, D.C. – The BOEMRE today launched a focused, nationwide recruitment campaign to fill current and new environmental science positions at the agency. “As we work to elevate the role of science in our decision-making, we must attract top-flight environmental scientists to conduct scientific studies, complete legally-mandated environmental reviews, and fill important positions in environmental compliance,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “These aggressive recruitment efforts underscore our seriousness about environmental issues and reflect our emphasis on science in decision-making.” BOEMRE will be hiring environmental scientists in the coming months to do work in fields ranging from environmental studies to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review to environmental compliance – all of which are critical to the balanced development of offshore resources. As part of the bureau's ongoing re-organization, the role of environmental review and analysis will be strengthened through the creation of a first-ever Chief Environmental Officer, who will be responsible for ensuring that environmental concerns are appropriately balanced in leasing and planning decisions and for helping set the scientific agenda relative to our oceans. In addition, an important part of the reorganization involves the creation for the first time of a new environmental compliance and enforcement function. Director Bromwich will visit 12 schools throughout April and early May as part of an ongoing agency initiative to recruit students from the nation's top colleges and universities for careers in public service. The Director will address undergraduate and graduate students, as well as meet with faculty members engaged in environmental science disciplines and environmental policy programs. He will also meet with students, faculty and researchers affiliated with BOEMRE's environmental studies program, which funds approximately $30 million per year for scientific studies in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Arctic. School visits during the week of April 4 will include: University of Washington, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Stanford University, University of California at Davis, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of California at Los Angeles, University of San Diego and University of California at San Diego. The Director will also make trips to Tulane University, Louisiana State University and Columbia University. Senior BOEMRE personnel will visit additional schools throughout April. For more information, go to: http://www.boemre.gov/jobs/index.htm. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0329.htm
March 29, 2011 Return to the top	The Natural Resources Restoration Act of 2011 U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry today introduced the Natural Resources Restoration Act of 2011, which would require expedited coastal and fishery recovery and restoration from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. The bill requires a down payment on the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process to address resources that were harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “Under the current Natural Resources Damage Assessment process, it could be 10 to 20 years before BP and the responsible parties begin repairing the damage they have caused to our fisheries, wildlife, coastal and other natural resources. There isn't a fisherman or a single coastal community that has that kind of time. We can't sit back and let BP drag their feet with reports and studies on how Louisiana's coast was harmed,” Vitter said. “My bill would force BP to come to the table on equal ground with our state trustees and negotiate early payment for environmental restoration that is so critical to rehabilitating our coast.” “I'm proud to join Senator Vitter in introducing the Natural Resources Restoration Act of 2011,” said Landry. “I am tired of BP using every trick and turn of the court process to prolong their obligation to pay for the damages they have caused to Louisiana's natural resources. Our bill forces BP to make a choice: pay 30 percent of what they owe right now or negotiate in good faith; delaying the payment is no longer an option.” Vitter and Landry's legislation would provide for expedited payments from BP and other responsible parties to assist in restoring natural resources such as oyster beds, fishery stocks, coastal wetlands and foraging and nesting sites for waterfowl. “We are approaching one year since the Deepwater Horizon disaster and virtually no funds have been invested in trying to restore the Gulf of Mexico. Louisianians in the fishing community depend upon the Gulf Coast's resources to put food on the table and pay bills. This bill ensures that the recovery process begins by summer of 2011 – not summer of 2025,” Vitter explained. The amount of the payment will be determined by a preliminary assessment by the National Academies done in coordination with the NRDA trustees. BP and the responsible parties will receive credit for their down payment against liabilities pursuant to the Oil Spill Pollution Act of 1990. Louisiana's designated Natural Resource Trustee agencies are the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. http://thehayride.com/2011/03/the-natural-resources-restoration-act-of-2011/
March 28, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Issues Guidance for Offshore Deepwater Drillers to Comply with Safety and Containment Requirements The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today issued additional guidance summarizing and clarifying previously issued offshore deepwater drilling safety requirements. This guidance document also highlights BOEMRE's process for reviewing subsea containment plans for deepwater operations. The guidance contains no additional regulatory requirements, but instead provides clarifying information to assist the oil and gas industry in complying with existing regulations and guidance. Director Bromwich and BOEMRE personnel have met regularly with multiple oil and gas operators and industry representatives to answer questions about new regulations, Notices to Lessees (NTL), and how the agency will apply National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements with respect to deepwater drilling operations. The issues addressed in the information document include compliance issues relating to: the Drilling Safety Rule (or Interim Final Rule) and NTL-10, as well as further information on BOEMRE's process for evaluating subsea containment information submitted by operators along with their permit applications. The information document is available at: http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/pdfs/DeepwaterGuidanceSupplement.pdf. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0328.htm
March 23, 2011 Return to the top	Government releases DNV's findings on Deepwater Horizon BOP HOUSTON, Mar. 23 -- Federal officials have released a two-volume report from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) on the forensic examination of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer (BOP), and the report recommends additional study be done on the BOP's failure to close and seal the Macondo well. The BOEMRE/USCG Joint Investigation Team released DNV's report on the BOP, which concluded that off-centered drill pipe prevented the blind shear rams (BSR) from fully closing and sealing the wellbore. While releasing the report, BOEMRE announced a seventh session of public hearings starting Apr. 4 in New Orleans. The hearings will focus specifically on the BOP forensic examination. Forensic testing The report said forces from the flow of the well induced the drill pipe to buckle between the upper annular and the upper variable bore rams (VBR). The drill pipe deflected until it contacted the wellbore just above the BSR. Drill pipe became trapped between the ram block faces, preventing the blocks from fully closing and sealing. “This position of the drill pipe between the upper annular and the upper VBRs led to buckling and bowing of the drill pipe within the wellbore,” the report said. Recommendations DNV recommends that industry examine and study potential conditions that could arise in the event of the loss of well control. It suggests numerous studies including: Effects of the flow of the well fluids on BOP components and various tubulars that might be present. Effects that could arise from the tubulars being fixed or constrained within the components of a BOP. Ability of the BOP components to complete their intended design or function under these conditions. DNV also recommended industry study the ability of shear rams to completely cut tubular and seal the well regardless of the tubulars position within the wellbore. “The findings of these studies should be considered and addressed in the design of future BOPs and the need for modifying current BOPs to address these findings,” the report said. DNV also recommended industry examine and study the potential effects or results that closing of the annulars or closing of the VBRs could have on the BOP stack, including an evaluation of how elastic buckling of tubulars could adversely affect the ability to regain control of the well. http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/3855846003/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/hse/20100/march-2011/government-releases.html
March 22, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Highlights Role of Environmental Reviews, Announces Science Recruitment Tour at ITM NEW ORLEANS – BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered the keynote address today at the bureau's Information Transfer Meeting (ITM) in New Orleans. This year's plenary session, “Moving Forward: Emerging from the Deepwater Horizon Event,” provided an opportunity to discuss new, comprehensive reforms that have been implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. First held in 1980, BOEMRE's Gulf of Mexico Region's ITM provides a forum for the sharing of results, methodologies, and ideas related to environmental studies. Scientists and researchers present, discuss and share their findings in support and funded in part by the bureau's environmental studies program. During his remarks, Director Bromwich announced that he will kick off a university tour with visits to ten universities throughout the country to discuss the new environmental science-related opportunities created through the bureau's re-organization. BOEMRE will be hiring environmental scientists in the coming months to do work in fields ranging from environmental studies to NEPA review to environmental compliance – all of which are critical to the balanced development of offshore resources. The Director's remarks as prepared for delivery are included in the website link. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0322.htm
March 22, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves Additional Deepwater Drilling Permit that Meets New Safety Standards NEW ORLEANS – The BOEMRE today approved a fourth deepwater drilling permit that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to drill a new well for Exxon Mobil Corporation's Well #3 in Keathley Canyon Block 919 in 6,941 ft. water depth, approximately 240 miles off the Louisiana coastline, south of Lafayette, La. Today's is the first permit approved that designates the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) containment system as its containment solution. “Today's permit approval is the fourth to be approved in the month since the industry confirmed its capability to contain a deepwater loss of well control and blowout. We will continue to review and approve applications that demonstrate the ability to operate safely in deep water,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “As we have seen, the rate of deepwater permit applications is increasing, which reflects growing confidence in the industry that it understands and can comply with the applicable requirements, including the containment requirement. We expect additional permit approvals in the near future.” ExxonMobil's Well #3 is a new well. The operator had a rig on-location and an approved Permit to Drill a New Well when activities were suspended due to the temporary drilling suspensions imposed following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. ExxonMobil has contracted with the MWCC to use its capping stack to stop the flow of oil should a well control event occur. As part of its approval process, the bureau reviewed ExxonMobil's containment capability available for the specific well proposed in the permit application and confirmed that the capabilities of the capping stack met the requirements specific to the proposed well's characteristics. BOEMRE has worked diligently to help industry adapt to and comply with new, rigorous safety practices. These standards ensure that oil and gas development continues, while also incorporating key lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This new permit meets the new safety regulations and information requirements in Notices to Lessees (NTL) N06 and N10, and the Interim Final Safety Rule. Today's permit adds to the number of permits that have been approved since new safety regulations have been put in place. For a list of well types, pending and approved permits, and information on new safety regulations, go to: http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/homepg/offshore/safety/well_permits.html. . http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0322a.htm
March 22, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE / USCG to Conduct 7th Session of Deepwater Horizon Investigation to Focus on BOP NEW ORLEANS - The BOEMRE/USCG Joint Investigation Team, which is examining the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill, today announced that it will hold a seventh session of public hearings the week of April 4, 2011. The hearings, which will focus specifically on the forensic examination of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer (BOP), are scheduled to take place at the Holiday Inn Metairie, New Orleans Airport, 2261 North Causeway Blvd., Metairie, La. BOEMRE and the Coast Guard have made the forensic examination report prepared by U.S. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Columbus, the contractor that performed the examination, available to the parties-in-interest in the investigation, members of the Technical Working Group who witnessed the examination at NASA's Michoud Facility in New Orleans, La., and the public. The two volume report is available online at http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com/external/content/document/3043/1047291/1/DNV%20Report%20EP030842%20for%20BOEMRE%20Volume%20I.pdf and http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com/external/content/document/3043/1047295/1/DNV%20BOP%20report%20-%20Vol%202%20(2).pdf. The forensic examination is one aspect of the much broader comprehensive investigation into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, casualty loss, and the subsequent oil spill. Over the course of its investigation, the JIT has heard testimony from more than 70 witnesses and examined a broad range of material including photographs, video, data, documents, and physical evidence. Although the full investigation report is not expected to be released until sometime this summer, a report on the BOP and other matters is scheduled to be issued within the next month. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0322c.htm
March 21, 2011 Return to the top	Interior Approves First Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Exploration Plan with Post-Deepwater Horizon Environmental Review Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich today announced that the bureau has approved an Exploration Plan, submitted by Shell Offshore Inc., following the completion of a site-specific Environmental Assessment (SEA) for deepwater oil and gas exploration. This is the first new deepwater exploration plan approved since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. An exploration plan describes all exploration activities planned by the operator for a specific lease or leases, including the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and other relevant information that needs to meet important safety standards. Once a plan is approved, additional new applications for permits to drill can be issued. “The successful completion of this environmental assessment, and the resulting approval of Shell's exploration plan, unmistakably demonstrates that oil and gas exploration can continue responsibly in deep water,” said BOEMRE Director Bromwich. “Shell's submission has satisfied the heightened environmental standards that we are now applying and I am confident that other operators can satisfy the same standards.” The plan is a supplemental exploration plan that proposes activities that were not included in an original exploration plan for the same lease – located in Shell's Auger field – which was approved in 1985. This supplements the original plan by proposing to drill three exploratory wells in approximately 2,950 feet water depth, 130 miles offshore Louisiana. BOEMRE prepared the SEA to examine Shell's proposed exploration activities in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the implementation of departmental and bureau regulations. The SEA included new scientific information that had not been previously available for consideration or analysis. Based on its review, BOEMRE found no evidence that the proposed action would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, BOEMRE determined that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was not required and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which allowed the supplemental exploration plan to be approved. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Interior-Approves-First-Gulf-of-Mexico-Deepwater-Exploration-Plan-with-Post-Deepwater-Horizon-Environmental-Review.cfm
March 16, 2011 Return to the top	Court Removes Offshore Permit Deadline for Government Just four days before a federal judge's deadline for U.S. oil regulators to act on a number of offshore drilling permit applications that had been delayed after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in and said the government doesn't have to act while it appeals the judge's order. On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit stayed U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman's February order for the U.S. Department of Interior to make decisions on five offshore drilling applications by March 19. Two more applications were later added, with deadlines of March 31. Ensco Offshore Co., a shallow-water drilling company in Dallas that had brought suit over the delays in permitting while federal regulators reconfigured the rules after last year's rig explosion and oil release, and its supporters had cheered in February when Feldman's order appeared poised to force a restart of drilling work in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven days later, the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement issued its first deepwater drilling permit since the oil disaster, granting permission for Houston-based Noble Energy to resume work on a well that it had already drilled to more than 13,000 feet. But in an appeal filed March 10, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it was working to educate applicants on the new application process. If regulators were forced to make snap decisions, it would bring everyone back to the same environment that existed before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, subverting the new rules. If regulators were put in that position, they might simply have to deny the applications, the Justice Department said. David Pettit, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that the 5th Circuit's stay is a temporary victory for those who are concerned about the safety of offshore drilling, but the real questions about a judge's authority to intervene in the regulatory process await the appeal. “The merits are still on the table as to whether this judge or any judge can tell Interior, ‘You need to issue these permits now,'” he said. If the appeal proceeds on an expedited basis, it could be resolved in a month or so. If it proceeds on a regular timetable, it could take a number of months, which is sure to disappoint business interests keen on restarting oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Pettit said that the Interior Department's approval of the Noble Energy permit shows there is no de facto moratorium on permits. “I take them at their word that they needed to work through them, and they're not just holding them up through some sort of back-door moratorium,” he said. Groups like the National Ocean Industries Association, the Offshore Marine Service Association, Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition and political leaders in Louisiana have argued for a quick restart of offshore drilling, saying delays are hurting the local economy. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, said in an e-mailed statement that regulators need to stay focused on restarting work in the Gulf. http://loga.la/oil-gas-news/?p=3693
March 12, 2011 Return to the top	US Issues Second Post-Spill Drill Permit in Gulf The U.S. government has given BHP Billiton the second new permit to drill in the Gulf of Mexico since the Macondo oil spill, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Saturday. A BHP spokesman confirmed that the new permit has been issued for resumption of drilling of a production well at Shenzi. The well was being drilled in waters 4,234 feet (1,290 metres) deep, 120 miles (193 km) off the Louisiana coast south of Houma, at the time BP's Macondo well blew out in April 2010. After the blowout, the U.S. government imposed a moratorium pending new rules to increase the safety of offshore drilling. The moratorium was lifted in October but it took several months to issue the first permit. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Feb. 28 issued the first new permit since the lifting of the moratorium to Noble Energy. At the time, BOEM said more permits would be awarded soon. Shenzi, located in Green Canyon Blocks 653, 654, 609 and 610, was discovered in 2002 and has been in production since March 2009. The newly approved well is a continuation of production development in the field. BHP is the operator, with 44 percent ownership. Hess Corp and Repsol are partners, each with 28 percent ownership. BP, driller of the doomed Macondo well, was a partner in Shenzi but sold its interest to Repsol in 2006. BHP puts Shenzi platform's maximum production capacity at 100,000 barrels of oil and 50 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN1226560220110312?sp=true
March 11, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar Names Members of Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to Guide Oil and Gas Regulatory Program Reform Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich today announced the members of the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee, a permanent advisory body of the nation's leading scientific, engineering, and technical experts who will provide critical guidance on improving offshore drilling safety, well containment, and spill response as we explore new energy frontiers. Secretary Salazar has asked former Sandia National Laboratory Director Tom Hunter, who was a key member of the scientific team assembled to assist with the containment and capping of the BP's Macondo well, to lead the body as chairman. The Safety Committee has 15 members representing federal agencies, the offshore oil and gas industry, academia, national labs and various research organizations. Committee representatives from the offshore industry are: Charlie Williams, Chief Scientist for Well Engineering and Production Technology, Shell Oil Company; Paul Siegele, President, Chevron's Energy Technology Company; Joseph Gebara, Senior Manager, Structural Engineer, Technip USA, Inc.; and Don Jacobsen, Senior Vice President – Operations, Noble Drilling Services, Inc. Committee members representing the academic community and non-governmental organizations are: Nancy Leveson, Professor, System Safety and Process Safety, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Richard Sears, Senior Science and Engineering Advisor and Chief Scientist, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling; Tad Patzek, Professor and Chairman, Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin; and Lois Epstein, Arctic Program Director, The Wilderness Society. Federal Government designees on the committee are: Walter Cruickshank, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior; Christopher Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas in the Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy; CAPT. Patrick Little, Commanding Officer, Marine Safety Center, U.S. Coast Guard; Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Environmental Protection Agency; David Westerholm, Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.; and Steve Hickman, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. The creation of the Safety Committee was announced on Jan. 19, 2011 and a federal register notice solicited nominations and recommendations that guided Secretary Salazar's selection and appointments. The Committee may establish technical working groups to focus on critical areas related to offshore drilling, such as Drilling and Workplace Safety; Intervention and Containment; and Oil Spill Response. The Safety Committee is established in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Names-Members-of-Ocean-Energy-Safety-Advisory-Committee-to-Guide-Oil-and-Gas-Regulatory-Program-Reform.cfm
March 11, 2011 Return to the top	Scientific Teams Complete Peer-Reviewed Assessment of Oil Flow Rate Methodologies The U.S. scientific teams charged with determining the oil discharge rate of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have completed a peer-reviewed report that assesses the methodologies to determine each technique's strengths and limitations. The report does not change any of the numbers from the government estimate released in August 2010, which estimated the well's flow rate at 53,000 barrels of oil per day immediately preceding its closure and approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil over the course of the entire oil spill. The government estimate, based on pressure readings taken during the well integrity test and subsequent reservoir modeling, has an uncertainty of plus or minus approximately 10 percent. The results are published today in the Flow Rate Technical Group's (FRTG) final report: http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=237763 Given the lack of precedent and proven techniques for accurately estimating the release of hydrocarbons from a deepwater well blowout, the FRTG used all practical methodologies to generate an estimate, including observations at the ocean surface, video and acoustic observations from Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and reservoir and well modeling. Using the August 2010 flow estimates as the primary benchmark for the assessment, the FRTG examined each methodology's timeliness, accuracy and ease of deployment as criteria for selecting the best approaches. The report concludes that the two best methods were acoustic and video, both of which involved making measurements from ROVs of the hydrocarbon plume as it exited the well in the deep sea. The acoustic technique, which used an acoustic doppler current profiler to image the velocity of the moving fluid and a sonar to calibrate the size of the plume, yielded the most accurate estimate of flow rate. This method, however, required a more complex deployment of oceanographic equipment. The FRTG's video technique needed only high-resolution footage of the plume from a video camera, a standard tool for ROVs. Flow rate estimates based on video were available in a more timely manner than the acoustic technique; however, they were marked by larger uncertainty. The earliest video measurement attempts underestimated the flow rate as a result of lower quality video data and evolving understanding of the complex flow geometry. The report found that an on-site hydrocarbon sample reduced the uncertainty in the flow rate in both cases by resolving the proportions of gas and oil in the well fluid. In comparison, the report concludes that any technique that relies only on measurements taken at the sea surface is likely to miss much of the oil that remains in the deep sea. Additional research is needed to understand the fate of oil in deep sea releases under a variety of oceanographic conditions. In addition, the report found that attempts to model the flow rate from the well using industry proprietary data on reservoir properties and well flow paths resulted in a wide range of outcomes, some of which closely matched the August estimates. The report also recommends that blowout preventers in the future be better equipped with pressure gages, as reliable pressure readings would have provided additional evidence and greatly reduced the uncertainty in such models. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Scientific-Teams-Complete-Peer-Reviewed-Assessment-of-Oil-Flow-Rate-Methodologies.cfm
March 10, 2011 Return to the top	U.S. Appeals for Delay in 30-Day Order on Drill Permits U.S. offshore regulators asked a New Orleans appellate court to postpone a judge's March 19 deadline for them to act on certain Gulf of Mexico drilling permits delayed by the Obama Administration's drilling ban. The Interior Department had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, also of New Orleans, to delay his own order so that the U.S. Court of Appeals would have time to review it. When Feldman didn't respond to that request, the U.S. turned to the appellate court. “The 30-day deadline is a clear abuse of discretion,'' lawyers for the agency said in their filing today at the New Orleans appeals court. Meeting Feldman's deadline would require the agency to act “nearly as quickly as it did prior to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, even though the enormously negative consequences of inadequate containment planning in that incident unquestionably altered the landscape for consideration of such applications,'' they said. U.S. offshore regulators said they may deny the seven Gulf of Mexico drilling permits Feldman singled out for quick action if they're forced to act by the judge's deadlines. Feldman ordered government action by March 19 on five permits and by March 31 on two additional permits. Regulators claim the permitting process is a cooperative dialogue between the agency and operators, which can take days or months to complete. These seven permit applications are incomplete and “cannot be approved in their current state,'' according to a March 4 filing by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/u-s-asks-appeals-court-to-delay-30-day-order-on-drill-permits.html
March 07, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Well Device May Have Been Flawed There may have been a fundamental safety design problem with the pods that controlled the massive device that failed to stop the Gulf oil spill, federal investigators said Friday as they asked that more testing be done to confirm that. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has objected to the government's decision to halt testing of the blowout preventer on Friday. The Associated Press obtained a copy of a letter the board sent to the team that has been overseeing the testing since November at a NASA facility in New Orleans. The team is jointly run by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement. The Norwegian firm doing the testing, Det Norske Veritas, is expected to submit its findings by March 20. A spokeswoman for the joint investigation team, Melissa Schwartz, said in an e-mail to the AP that the scope of the work done by DNV was developed in coordination with other interested parties, including the safety board, and in consultation with the Justice Department. She said there have been no other objections. She said the team believes DNV has performed the tests necessary to determine why the blowout preventer did not function as intended. The 300-ton device that was used with BP's Macondo well was raised from the seafloor on Sept. 4. It sat at the NASA facility for two months before testing began. The USCG-BOEMRE panel recently said that it won't finish its final report on what caused the April 20, 2010, rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by the one-year anniversary of the disaster as it had hoped. Delays in testing the blowout preventer forced the panel to seek another deadline extension. Its final report was due this month. Instead, the panel now has until July. It will make a preliminary statement by mid-April. http://www.ajc.com/business/apnewsbreak-oil-well-device-860894.html
March 04, 2011 Return to the top	Legislature Creates Oil Spill Oversight Committee State legislative leaders have formed a special committee to oversee the BP claims process led by Kenneth Feinberg. The committee will be chaired by New Orleans Rep. Walt Leger, a Democrat. It is expected to hold its first meeting this month. Senate President Joel Chaisson told The Times-Picayune the committee was formed because of complaints about the way Feinberg is handling the nearly 200,000 spill claims filed by Louisiana individuals and businesses with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Feinberg has been criticized by BP for being overly generous in his disbursement methodology and by oil spill victims who say they have been treated unfairly. The panel will be similar to a special committee created after the 2005 hurricanes. It will have the power to subpoena witnesses, but will not be able to force changes to the claims process. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/04/2097004/legislature-creates-oil-spill.html
March 02, 2011 Return to the top	Interior Department Says it Will Comply with Judge Feldman's Latest Permitting Ruling WASHINGTON -- Top Interior Department officials said Wednesday that they will comply with a New Orleans federal judge's ruling that ordered it to decide on five deepwater drilling permit applications within 30 days. "We will comply with the court order and make the decision, up or down, on the pending permits," Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said. Still, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that the department is mulling an appeal and that there are still obstacles to the faster permit pace advocated by the oil industry and Gulf State lawmakers. Referring to New Orleans Federal Judge's Martin Feldman's Feb. 17 ruling, Salazar said that, in his view, the judge "was wrong." "I don't think the court has the jurisdiction to basically tell the Department of Interior (what) its responsibilities are," Salazar said at Wednesday's hearing by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Asked to elaborate during a break in the hearing, Salazar said the department is examining its legal options on a possible appeal but "we also will comply with the judge's order if that is what we have to do." Salazar said the permit issued this week to Noble Energy, allowing it to resume deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, will serve as a "template" for others permits "in the days ahead." But Salazar continued to defend the slow pace of permitting since last April's BP's Macondo well blowout. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La, suggested the department give the industry a more positive feedback about permitting possibilities now that the industry has developed oil containment systems for future spills. Since many wells will rely on the same containment systems, it seems reasonable to assume that if the plans work for one it would for a comparable well, as well, Landrieu said. But Salazar said that while progress is being made, the containment plans still "are works in progress," and need "significant amount of work." He expressed doubt that the department will return to the permitting pace before the BP disaster. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/03/interior_department_says_it_wi.html
February 28, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Approves First Deepwater Drilling Permit To Meet Important New Safety Standards in Gulf of Mexico The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved the first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. Noble Energy's application for a permit to bypass is for Well #2 in Mississippi Canyon Block 519, approximately 70 miles south east of Venice, La. Initial drilling on this well began April 16, 2010, in 6,500 feet water depth, and the activities were suspended June 12, 2010, under the temporary drilling moratorium, issued in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill. BOEMRE has worked diligently to help industry adapt and conform to new and rigorous safety practices. Noble Energy has met new safety regulations and information requirements in Notices to Lessees (NTL) N06 and N10, and the Interim Final Safety Rule. These standards ensure that oil and gas development continues, while meeting unprecedented new safety regulations that are part of the Obama Administration's efforts to ensure that offshore drilling and production in the United States continues as safely as possible. As part of its approval process, the bureau reviewed Noble Energy's containment capability available for the specific well proposed in the permit application. Noble Energy contracted with the Helix Well Containment Group (Helix) to use its capping stack to stop the flow of oil should a well control event occur. The capabilities of the capping stack meet the requirements that are specific to the characteristics of the proposed well. The approved permit allows the drilling of a bypass well. An operator drills a bypass in order to drill around a mechanical problem in the original hole to the original geologic target from the existing wellbore. In this case, Noble Energy will be drilling around the plugs set in the original well when drilling was suspended in order to complete the project. Today's permit adds to the increasing number of permits that have been approved since new safety regulations have been put in place, including 37 permits for new shallow water wells. For a list of well types, pending and approved permits, and information on new safety regulations, go to: http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/homepg/offshore/safety/well_permits.html. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0228.htm
February 27, 2011 Return to the top	Latecomer to Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup says it now has the Answer in any Future Disasters More than a month after its Macondo well exploded last April and started the worst oil spill in U.S. history, BP hired Helix Energy Solutions Group, an independent oil producer, to lend a hand. But although the company was late to the game last summer, Helix says it now has an improved system that will be able to do the whole job in a couple of weeks if another major blowout happens. Deepwater drilling has been on hold since the Macondo disaster, largely because federal regulators are not yet satisfied that the oil companies will be able to deal with a spill of similar magnitude. Helix's new system is one of two solutions that the big oil producers hope will ease those fears and speed a return to drilling. Once it was all in place at Macondo, the Helix equipment was able to collect more than three-quarters of the estimated daily discharge. It also learned lessons about the capping stack BP used, so it followed up by developing its own shut-off device in Corpus Christi, Texas. Helix now has a contract with Clean Gulf Associates, a nonprofit consortium that has provided spill response equipment since 1972, and has established agreements with third-party suppliers that will provide firefighting, pressure testing and chemical dispersants at the site of an accident. The Helix system joins the Marine Well Containment Co., a similar effort by BP and the four largest Gulf of Mexico operators, as Gulf-wide spill response systems that exploration companies can list on their drilling permit applications as proof to government regulators that they'll be ready to quickly contain the next spill. The U.S. Interior Department's offshore regulatory body, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, has already viewed demonstrations of both systems and seems ready to accept a drilling permit that lists either one as its spill containment capacity. The thing that makes the Helix system different is its use of vessels that are already in action around the Gulf, with a trained crew and most of the key containment equipment already on board. The company already provides production services for other Gulf operators. Rather than spending $650 million to set up a production platform in a lower-producing field, a production company can hire Helix's dynamic positioning vessels to come in for a daily fee and hook onto a well. Once there, Helix's vessels can suck up the crude through flexible tubes and send it back down through miles of pipes to a single central production facility. That same concept is at play in the spill response system. Helix's key innovation is a buoy system that allows it to quickly disconnect from one of those jobs in case a winter storm or hurricane rolls in. That is crucial for the new spill response system because it will allow the Q4000 and Helix Producer to break away from a project when there's a blowout and head directly to the location. Once at the site of a blowout, the Q4000 and Helix Producer will use robot submarines to assess the damage at the wellhead. During that time, another ship will speed the multi-piece capping stack from Corpus Christi. If the well pressure is too high to be shut in safely by the first cap, the Q4000 will be able to drop a riser pipe with various sizes of fittings to cover the leak and suck the oil and gas to the surface. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/02/latecomer_to_gulf_oil_spill_cl.html
February 19, 2011 Return to the top	Federal Natural Resource Trustees Announce Next Step in BP Deepwater Horizon Spill Gulf Restoration To advance the ongoing natural resource restoration planning process following the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) today announced plans to develop a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) in cooperation with state co-trustees as part of the ongoing Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). The first step in the PEIS process will be public scoping meetings in each of the affected Gulf Coast states. In a notice published in the Federal Register, NOAA, DOI, DOD, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas are taking the next step in the ongoing effort to restore the Gulf of Mexico environment to its pre-spill condition. This comes as scientists from those agencies are conducting a comprehensive assessment of the injury to the Gulf Coast region's fish, wildlife and habitats caused by last year's oil spill. The public scoping process will evaluate a range of activities and alternatives that could restore, rehabilitate, or replace injured resources and compensate the public for the loss of human uses of those resources. At these PEIS meetings, members of the public will learn about the environmental impacts of the spill, get an early picture of the region's natural resource restoration needs, and may submit comments on the types of programs and projects they would like to see incorporated in future restoration strategies in response to the oil spill. Members of the public also may submit their comments online at www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov, where the full meeting schedule will be posted by the end of February. The comments provided during scoping will help define the parameters of a draft PEIS on which the public will again be invited to comment later this year. In addition to providing an avenue for initial comments, the scoping meetings will give the public the opportunity to learn more about various aspects of the damage assessment. NRDA is the legal process authorized by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and other laws, to determine the type of environmental restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of a spill. The PEIS is part of the overall NRDA effort, whose final restoration plans will be enacted by BP and the other parties responsible for the spill with no expenditure of taxpayer funds. The NRDA process is separate from the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, announced by President Obama last October. While separate, it will work to coordinate its planning with the final NRDA Restoration Plan. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Federal-Natural-Resource-Trustees-announce-next-step-in-BP-Deepwater-Horizon-spill-Gulf-restoration.cfm
February 18, 2011 Return to the top	Judge Orders BOEMRE to Act on ENSCO Drilling Permits WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 18--A federal district judge in New Orleans ordered the US Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement to decide whether to issue five pending Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling permit applications to Ensco Offshore Co. within 30 days. The Dallas offshore drilling contractor applied for four of the five permits during the 5-month deepwater drilling moratorium US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar imposed following the Macondo well blowout which destroyed the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig on Apr. 20 and set off a massive crude oil spill. DOI said it was reviewing the ruling. Judge Martin L.C. Feldman, of Louisiana's eastern district, wrote in his Feb. 17 order that drilling permits were processed in about 2 weeks time before the Macondo accident. “In stark contrast, the five permits have been pending from 4 to some 9 months,” Feldman said. “These delays have put off indefinitely drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Ensco has incurred significantly reduced standby rates on its rigs and has been forced to move some . . . to other locations around the world.” He rejected the federal government's argument that Congress, when it passed the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in 1953, decided not to impose a time limit and consequently left the matter to the US Department of the Interior agency responsible for managing the OCS. That view, said Feldman, “would produce autocratic discretion.” He noted DOI argued delays are inevitable in a more regulated environment, and conceded that in the spill's wake, some delays are understandable. “But now, nearly a year after the spill occurred, delays, particularly those of the length at issue here, become increasingly unreasonable,” Feldman continued. “The permitting backlog becomes increasingly inexcusable.” http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/5140830772/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/20100/february-2011/judge-orders_boemre.html?cmpid=EnlDailyFebruary182011
February 17, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Companies Complete Spill Containment System Marine Well Containment Co., a nonprofit group whose founders include Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, said an initial response system for future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico has been completed. The status of potential containment systems has been a focus for regulators following a record offshore U.S. oil spill at BP Plc's Macondo well in the Gulf last April. The U.S. Interior Department said Jan. 25 that it was refusing to issue deep-water exploration permits because energy companies hadn't shown a capability to respond to a massive spill. The system includes a subsea capping stack with the ability to shut in flowing oil or to send crude to surface vessels using flexible pipes and risers, Marine Well Containment said today in a statement. Other initial members of the group include Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The achievement fulfills a plan to deliver a system within six months of starting the well containment project, Marty Massey, the organization's chief executive officer, said in today's statement. The new system includes chemicals to break up oil below the surface and equipment for surface processing and storage. Marine Well Containment said it has consulted with the U.S. government to ensure the system is designed to meet requirements. Interim System Exploratory drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet was halted after BP's Macondo well erupted off the Louisiana coast in April, killing 11 rig workers and spewing more than 4 million barrels of oil into the sea. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar lifted the moratorium in October, with the caveat that energy companies would have to meet tougher rules to qualify for permits. The containment system is designed to contain a spill of the magnitude of the Macondo leak, in even deep waters. The interim system is intended to operate in water depths of up to 8,000 feet, with storage and liquids processing capacity of up to 60,000 barrels per day, according to today's statement. ‘Significant Progress' The need to show well control and containment capacity for deep-water drilling was made clear by the Macondo blowout, Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said today in an e-mail. She said the bureau appreciates the “significant progress” in addressing the issue, “and we continue to encourage them to make their containment system available as quickly as possible to deep-water operators so that new, responsible oil and gas drilling in deep water can proceed.” The more developed version of the system, able to operate in waters as deep as 10,000 feet, will be available next year, Vaughn said. Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. is also working on a similar solution and expects to develop a containment system by the end of March, spokesman Cameron Wallace said by phone yesterday. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-17/marine-well-containment-completes-initial-containment-system.html
February 17, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Spill Commission's Chief Counsel's Report Released On May 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (“the Commission”). The Order directed the Commission to “examine the relevant facts and circumstances concerning the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.” The Order instructed the Commission to present a final public report of its findings to the President within six months of the date of its first meeting. The Commission appointed Fred H. Bartlit, Jr. as Chief Counsel to investigate and present to the Commission findings regarding the root causes of the Macondo explosion and blowout. At public hearings on November 8 and 9, 2010, Bartlit and his team (“the Chief Counsel's team”) presented preliminary findings to the Commission regarding the technical, managerial, and regulatory causes of the rig explosion and well blowout. Bartlit and the Chief Counsel's team emphasized at the time that their investigation was ongoing and that these findings were preliminary. The Commission set forth its findings regarding the root causes of the blowout in a report that it released on January 11, 2011. Several of the Commission's findings were based on the work of the Chief Counsel. Given the factual and technical complexity of some of the underlying causes of the blowout, the Commission asked the Chief Counsel's team to issue a separate Chief Counsel's Report setting forth in greater detail their findings and conclusions regarding the technical, managerial, and regulatory causes of the blowout. This document is that report. Certain sections of this Report are accompanied by video clips accessible on the Commission's website at www.oilspillcommission.gov. The video clips contain graphics and narration to better explain many of the concepts and findings contained in this Report. They are meant to supplement, not to replace, the Report itself. http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/chief-counsels-report
February 14, 2011 Return to the top	President's FY 2012 Budget Includes $358.4 Million for BOEMRE Reorganization, Reforms and New Fees for Drillers WASHINGTON, DC – President Barack Obama today announced his request for $358.4 million to fund the BOEMRE in fiscal year 2012. This represents a $119.3 million, or 50 percent, increase above the 2010 enacted level, after adjusting for funding transferred to the Office of the Secretary as part of the ongoing reorganization of the former MMS. The budget is designed to implement critical organizational and regulatory reforms in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, so that domestic offshore energy resources are developed in a safe and responsible manner. The additional resources requested would be used to complete the reorganization of BOEMRE, separating the offshore resource management and enforcement programs; hire new oil and gas inspectors, engineers, scientists and other key staff to oversee industry operations; conduct detailed engineering reviews of offshore drilling and production safety systems, and develop new risk-based inspections and safety oversight strategies, including the establishment of real-time monitoring of key drilling activities; and implement more aggressive reviews of company oil spill response plans. Additional resources will also facilitate the timely review of offshore oil and gas permits. Funding increases would be partially offset by $65 million in inspection fees charged to industry, an increase of $55 million over 2010 enacted levels. The fees will also apply to offshore drilling rigs for the first time. The President's Commission specifically recommended the use of industry fees in its final report so that “[r]egulation of the oil and gas industry would no longer be funded by taxpayers but instead by the industry that is being permitted to have access to a publicly-owned resource.” The request includes a total of $23.1 million for the renewable energy program. The request will advance development of the nation's abundant renewable energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This part of the request underscores the Administration's commitment to transitioning toward clean energy sources and reducing the nation's dependence upon fossil fuels. The President's request will also ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to ongoing operations as the BOEMRE reorganization proceeds. MMS was renamed BOEMRE in June 2010 to more accurately describe the scope of the organization's oversight responsibilities. Pursuant to a Secretarial Order, the functions of the former MMS are being split among three separate, independent entities. On October 1, 2010, the revenue management function of the former MMS became the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR). Funding for ONRR is now reflected in the budget request for the Office of the Secretary. The request assumes that $122.1 million in base funding from BOEMRE is transferred to the Office of the Secretary for ONRR revenue management activities. In 2011, the remaining BOEMRE functions will be split into two bureaus: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which will handle the leasing and environmental management functions of BOEMRE, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which will be responsible for the safety and enforcement functions of BOEMRE. This reorganization will be implemented on October 1, 2011, and will separate the inherently conflicting missions of resource development and enforcement. These reforms will lead to enhanced regulatory oversight and greater effectiveness in the management of the nation's offshore energy resources. In FY 2012, the Coastal Impact Assistance Program will be transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service, enabling BOEM and BSEE to focus on programs more directly aligned with their missions. For details on the re-organization, go to: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=119590 http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0214.htm
February 11, 2011 Return to the top	Baker Institute Offshore Energy Forum - Live Webcast Today, February 11, there will be a live webcast of the Baker Institute Offshore Energy Forum entitled, "U.S. Offshore Oil Exploration: Managing Risks to Move Forward". The event description is posted below. You may view the agenda and the webcast via the website posted here. Event Description The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history and threatened Gulf ecosystems, the local Gulf Coast economy and the future of U.S. offshore drilling. As more scientific and technical information becomes available about the causes and consequences of the disaster, the need for new policies and approaches to offshore drilling has become apparent. The conference “U.S. Offshore Oil Exploration: Managing Risks to Move Forward” brings together students, scientists and industry leaders, as well as national and Gulf Coast policymakers and political leaders, to discuss the path forward toward ensuring a safe and effective U.S. offshore drilling industry. Experts will address the options for new technologies designed to prevent future oil spills and debate policies needed to create a successful regulatory framework to achieve the important goals of environmental protection, national energy security and economic prosperity on the U.S. Gulf Coast. http://www.bakerinstitute.org/events/u.s.-offshore-oil-exploration-managing-risks-to-move-forward
February 10, 2011 Return to the top	Obama Administration Might Oppose Independent Offshore Oil Safety Agency, According to Draft Memo The Obama administration largely embraces the legislative priorities recommended by the Oil Spill Commission the president appointed in the wake of last year's BP disaster, but could disagree with the group on a key regulatory proposal, according to a White House draft memo obtained this week by The Times-Picayune. The memorandum is marked as a "pre-decisional draft" and is being circulated by White House staffers among various federal agencies. It says the administration is "concerned" about the Oil Spill Commission's request that Congress create an offshore safety agency within the Interior Department. The concern appears to be that an independent agency would impose demands on the oil industry that run contrary to those recently devised by the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. In its report last month, the Oil Spill Commission praised Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's reorganization of the old Minerals Management Service into bureaus to separately handle lease revenues, drilling safety and environmental issues, but said the new oversight structure didn't go far enough to protect safety and environmental regulators from political and money-making pressures. The White House memo suggests the agency proposed by the commission could work in the future, but not right now. Salazar has said publicly that he would take the recommended safety agency into consideration, but that it would take an act of Congress. But the document suggests the administration is considering opposing any legislation that could take the mantle for safety reforms away from its leaders on this issue, which are Salazar and BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich. The Oil Spill Commission declined comment on the memo Thursday. "We are also concerned about legislative proposals that would mandate specific drilling safety or environmental performance regulatory requirements by statute due to the need to maintain flexible, performance-based and cost-effective regulatory approaches ...," the memo says. But the Obama administration does appear to support going beyond the commission's recommendations to crack down further on the industry in two key areas. First, the memo calls for Congress to change the Clean Water Act to remove a reference to individual states' power to pursue their own legal actions to collect spill fines. The document says the reference could be interpreted to limit the federal government's ability to collect bigger fines whenever states pursue parallel actions against the polluters. Second, the memo pushes for a change to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act so it will be easier for the government to prove that a criminal act caused a spill. It also backs the establishment of an industry-run safety institute, the beefing up of whistleblower protections for rig workers who report unsafe practices, the repeal of caps on responsible parties' liability and the end of royalty relief, a common practice by the old MMS of waiving fees while companies were running up their highest exploration costs. http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/02/oil_and_gas_legislative_priori.html
February 09, 2011 Return to the top	Interior Official Says Industry is Making Progress in Preparation for Oil Well Blowouts The Interior Department's top offshore drilling regulator met with officials from major oil companies Tuesday and said he sees progress in their efforts to improve their capability to contain blown-out deepwater wells. Interior is demanding improved capabilities before it resumes issuing permits for deepwater oil-and-gas drilling, which was halted after last year's BP oil spill. Michael Bromwich, director of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said he met Tuesday with the Marine Well Containment Co., an Exxon-led consortium of major oil companies that also includes Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips and is developing enhanced systems that can be quickly deployed in the event of another blowout. “I think they are making progress and they answered some of the questions we had, and we will continue to work with them,” Bromwich told reporters Wednesday. Last Friday Bromwich sent letters to the consortium and the Helix Energy Solutions Group — another company developing containment systems — seeking details on their efforts. “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 wrote in the letters to the companies Friday. On Wednesday Bromwich said the meeting provided some of the answers he's seeking. “I think we are getting closer. I think we needed to put the questions to the highest levels of those companies so we could get good and coherent responses. We got many of those yesterday, and we will have continuing discussions with them over the next several weeks,” he said Wednesday. Bromwich last month said he expects permitting for deepwater projects to resume before mid-year. Asked Wednesday if that timeline remains effective, he replied, “Yes. I think it is.” http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/142989-interior-drilling-chief-sees-progress-on-well-containment-after-industry-meeting
February 08, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Begins Environmental Reviews for Proposed 2012-2017 Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, for the 2012 to 2017, 5-year oil and gas leasing program. The notice, published in the Federal Register and available through their website today at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html, also announced the start of the scoping process. “This important step in the offshore resource evaluation and development process will help ensure that all interests and concerns regarding oil and gas leasing, exploration, development and production from proposed sales are appropriately considered,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “Every comment will be analyzed and considered as we continue to prepare for the next 5-year program.” BOEMRE is proposing to prepare a single EIS (multi-sale EIS) for all proposed 2012-2017 Central and Western Planning Area sales. As part of the scoping process, federal, state and local government agencies and other interested parties can submit comments that will assist BOEMRE in determining significant issues and alternatives to be analyzed in the multi-sale EIS. The multi-sale EIS is one step in a multi-tiered environmental review process that goes from the planning phase through the permitting phase. BOEMRE will be holding public scoping meetings in Houston, New Orleans and Mobile to collect public comments. These scoping meetings will be held in combination with the scoping meetings for the preparation of the overall Programmatic EIS on the 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0208a.htm
February 08, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Spill Commission Releases Two Staff Working Papers The National Oil Spill Commission released two staff working papers addressing issues and discussions taken up by the Commission for its Final Report. The research reflected within these documents informed the Commission's deliberations, and the findings and recommendation in its Final Report, which was presented to the President on January 11, 2011, but the staff papers themselves do not express the views of the Commission. The documents released today address the following topics: “The National Environmental Policy Act and Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Activities” This paper “focuses on the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its application to offshore oil and gas activities. “A Competent and Nimble Regulator: A New Approach to Risk Assessment and Management” This paper “examines some shortcomings in the US regulatory approach, particularly its failure to embrace a risk-based oversight approach. These papers are available at www.oilspillcommission.gov. http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Oil%20Spill%20Commission%20Releases%20Two%20Staff%20Working%20Papers.pdf
February 05, 2011 Return to the top	Feds Want Plan for Collaring Oil Spills Facing criticism about its failure to issue permits for new deepwater oil and gas wells, the Interior Department's regulatory agency fired back Friday, saying it can't grant approval to drill until the industry has a new spill-containment plan in place. "The most critical missing piece in the process of approving applications for permits to drill in deepwater is the demonstration of well control and subsea containment capability. Therefore, I ask that you provide a detailed update as to when your proposed containment systems will be operational," Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, wrote in identical letters sent Friday to Helix Energy Solutions Group, a key provider of well-control equipment, and to the four industry giants that formed the Marine Well Containment Co. after last April's massive BP oil spill. Bromwich's return volley came exactly six months after executives from the four companies -- ExxonMobil, Shell Oil Co., Chevron and ConocoPhillips -- sat in front of him at Tulane University and promised to unveil an interim containment process within six months as part of their $1 billion effort to create a larger, quicker spill-response system for all Gulf wells. The cooperative issued a contract to Technip for front-end engineering and design of the containment equipment back in October, but hasn't made any announcements about its progress. "The Marine Well Containment System is working to finalize the interim response system and agreements with prospective members," ExxonMobil spokeswoman Rachael L. Moore said on behalf of the Marine Well Containment Co. Besides tacitly calling out the companies on their August promise, the larger implication of Bromwich's letter is that none of the operators wanting to drill new wells have been able to meet new safety rules requiring them to be capable of responding quickly to a blowout. The letter's subtext is that this is the main reason BOEMRE has been unwilling to approve any of the 12 offshore exploration plans submitted for drilling new wells. At the August meeting, Sara Ortwein, vice president of engineering at ExxonMobil Development Co., said the system's full capabilities will be available for any Gulf of Mexico well within 18 months -- which is another year from now. But Bromwich's letter suggests that permits for wells might move forward sooner if he gets responses to his requests for details about specific containment equipment, how it will be deployed to respond to an accident quickly and how long it will be before companies seeking permits to drill will be able to rely on the new system. http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1296891573127160.xml&coll=1
February 03, 2011 Return to the top	Judge Holds Interior in Contempt Over Drilling Ban A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday held the Interior Department in contempt for re-imposing a deepwater oil-drilling ban last year after the judge had struck down an earlier version of the moratorium. The contempt finding provides political ammunition for Republicans and pro-drilling Democrats that say Interior is blocking offshore development. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) quickly called the order a “sharp rebuke of the Interior Department for continuing to place politics before all else following the BP spill.” Judge Martin Feldman's ruling – which is stuffed with harsh words for Interior – orders the department to pay attorney's fees in the case against last year's drilling ban brought by several offshore oil services companies. Feldman is the judge who last June struck down Interior's initial drilling ban issued in the wake of the BP oil spill. Interior issued a new version of the deepwater ban in July that it eventually lifted in October, but permitting for deepwater projects has not yet resumed. Feldman's order Wednesday takes Interior to task for the way it went about issuing a new, but very similar, version of the ban after he granted an injunction against the first one. “Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this Court with clear and convincing evidence of the government's contempt of this Court's preliminary injunction Order,” Fedman writes in Wednesday's ruling. Feldman is with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Louisiana. The Interior Department declined comment on the new ruling. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/141889-judge-holds-interior-in-contempt-over-drilling-ban
February 03, 2011 Return to the top	BP Joins Marine Well Containment Company BP has joined Chevron, ConocoPhillips ExxonMobil and Shell as a member of the Marine Well Containment Company LLC (MWCC). BP brings its marine response experience and equipment to the MWCC. "Last autumn we made an ongoing commitment to share what we've learned and the experience we gained during the Deepwater Horizon incident response with the world," said James Dupree, regional president for BP's U.S. Gulf of Mexico business. 'We have shared our insights with regulators, participated in public forums, worked directly with industry bodies and published our lessons learned. Joining the MWCC and bringing our capabilities and equipment to an interim response system is another important part of that commitment." Among the equipment BP will bring to the MWCC are riser, manifold and containment systems deployed for use during the Deepwater Horizon response. In addition to the transfer of equipment, BP also will bring to MWCC the company's information and supporting records, drawings, permits, licenses and other technical information it developed throughout the spill response. These items will be part of the MWCC interim response system aimed at enhancing deepwater safety and environmental protection in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for 30 percent of U.S. oil and gas production and supports more than 170,000 American jobs. MWCC companies are involved with the engineering, procurement and construction of equipment and vessels for the system. BP is also actively involved in significant industry efforts to improve prevention, well intervention and spill response. This includes rig inspections and implementation of new requirements on blowout preventer certification and well design. The industry has proactively formed several multi-disciplinary task forces to further develop improved prevention, containment and recovery plans. http://www.oilvoice.com/n/BP_Joins_Marine_Well_Containment_Company/077db2f95.aspx
January 31, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Execs Developing Agency to Supervise Drilling Safety Big oil company executives are developing an industry-led, deep-water drilling safety body that could launch within weeks. As reported by the Financial Times, the plan by the industry heavyweights comes in response to a recent recommendation in the final report of the presidential panel on the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The report fingered a lack of resources at the Minerals Management Service, the federal regulator for offshore drilling, as a major factor contributing to the April explosion and the subsequent spill, the worst in U.S. history. The industry safety group, modeled after one in the nuclear power industry, is seen by both safety advocates and oil executives as a way to shore up safety oversight and offset the shortcomings of the MMS. The oil executives also are working on their plan — which would complement, rather than replace, government oversight — with the aim of restoring confidence in the industry's ability to drill safely offshore. However, a debate is swirling over whether the new organization would be a part of the American Petroleum Institute, which serves as both a major industry lobbyist as well as a technical body charged with establishing standards across the industry. Some officials worry that this would create an overly cozy relationship between the drilling safety overseers and profit-minded oil companies. “The new safety body has to be a different institution with a different staff, a different name and a different physical location from the API,” William Reilly, one of the two co-chairs of the presidential commission, told the Financial Times. API officials, in contrast, expressed confidence in their ability to be effective. “We have been doing this since 1924, and we have expertise here,” said API oil production official Erik Milito. “So it would make sense that this should be done by the API.” Another issue is how the new safety body would work with government regulators, particularly in light of President Obama's recent pledge to eliminate unnecessary regulations that impede growth. http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/01/oil-execs-developing-agency-to-supervise-drilling-safety/
January 31, 2011 Return to the top	DOJ says BOP and Cement Testing Still Under Way Justice Department attorney Michael Underhill said that a forensic report on the failed blowout preventor (BOP) which led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent Gulf of Mexico oil spill should be finished in March. Underhill spoke at a status conference for the BP multidistrict litigation in Judge Carl Barbier's chambers at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Barbier expressed concern over reports that the testing for the BOP and the cement used in drilling the Deepwater Horizon was falling behind. Underhill stated that the testing on the BOP should be done by the first week of March, but that's "not a promise." Underhill stated that the BOP investigation has already cost millions of dollars and has involved laser scanning all the equipment removed from the device. He also said that the forensic report on the BOP should be done by the end of March. http://www.louisianarecord.com/news/232965-doj-says-bop-and-cement-testing-still-under-way
January 28, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Calls for Public Comment to Inform Deepwater Environmental Assessment WASHINGTON— The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced that public comment is invited with respect to the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the first Exploration Plan (EP) for deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico completed in accordance with new safety and environmental standards implemented since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. The plan, a Supplemental EP submitted by Shell Offshore Inc., includes three proposed exploratory wells in approximately 2,950 feet water depth, 130 miles offshore Louisiana. Consistent with federal regulations, an EP is deemed “submitted” once all supporting materials and documentation has been provided. Once a plan is deemed submitted, BOEMRE has 30 calendar days to analyze and evaluate it. As part of its review, the bureau will prepare an EA specific to the proposed exploration activities. Upon completion of the technical and environmental review, BOEMRE must decide whether to approve the plan, require modifications, or disapprove the plan. A supplemental plan involves proposed activities on an oil and gas lease that were not included in the operator's original EP. Shell's original plan for this lease was approved in 1985. Oil and gas is currently being produced from this lease, which is part of the Auger field. The supplemental plan proposes drilling up to three additional exploratory wells. "As we continue exploration in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, we will conduct thorough site-specific reviews to ensure that the proposed activities are carried out safely, responsibly and in accordance with our regulations. Our reliance on Environmental Assessments as part of our review of exploratory drilling plans in deepwater underscores our commitment to ensuring that deepwater drilling goes forward with adequate regard and protection for the environment," BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich said. The 30-day time frame for review includes a 10-day public comment period to allow an opportunity to review and comment on the issues that should be considered by BOEMRE in preparing the EA for the plan. In an effort to make the comment opportunity more accessible, the public can both view and provide comments on agency documents at: http://www.boemre.gov/PublicComment.htm. http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0128.htm
January 28, 2011 Return to the top	Shell Application for Deepwater Exploration Takes Step Forward The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement launched a 30-day review Friday of the first exploration plan for deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico "completed in accordance" with new safety and environmental standards implemented in the wake of the BP disaster. The announcement was hailed by the applicant, Shell Offshore Inc., as a positive step toward renewed deepwater drilling in the Gulf. The supplemental exploration plan is one of seven now pending before BOEMRE, but the first to be "deemed submitted," meaning, in essence, that all its papers are in order and the clock can start on the 30 days that the bureau has to evaluate it. The plan includes three proposed exploratory wells in 2,950-feet of water, 130 miles off the Louisiana coast. Shell's original plan for this lease, a part of the Auger field, was approved in 1985. Oil and gas is now being produced from the lease. The supplemental plan proposes drilling up to three additional exploratory wells. Once the exploration plan is approved, Shell could apply for drilling permits for the wells. As part of its review, the bureau will prepare an environmental assessment specific to the proposed exploration activities. According to BOEMRE, "upon completion of the technical and environmental review, BOEMRE must decide whether to approve the plan, require modifications, or disapprove the plan." The 30-day time frame includes a 10-day public comment period. In the meantime, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle and members of the Back to Work Coalition met with BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich for the third time in two weeks to work out the remaining issues impeding the issuance of deepwater drilling permits in the Gulf. Angelle said Bromwich "assured us that despite the reorganization efforts taking place" in the regulatory regime at Interior, "our efforts to work through the permitting process will not lose momentum." http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/shell_application_for_deepwate.html
January 27, 2011 Return to the top	Study Released on Fate Of Dispersants In Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill A new study released Wednesday finds that dispersants placed deep in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the BP oil spill seemed to keep some oil from contaminating the water's surface. However, the chemicals in the dispersant lingered underwater, adding to growing concerns about the long-term consequences for the region. The study, which appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, was the first peer-reviewed research published on the fate of oil dispersants added to underwater ocean environments. According to the report, key chemical components of the 770,000 gallons of oil dispersants pumped to the damaged well head a mile below the Gulf surface did mix with the spewing oil and gas, and remained deep in the ocean for two months or longer without degrading. However, it was not possible to determine if the first deep ocean use of oil dispersants worked as intended in breaking up and dissipating the oil. The scientists also noted ongoing concern about the environmental fate of the 1.4 million gallons of dispersant applied to the ocean's surface. Previous studies have shown that dispersants added to surface oil spills prevent them from coating and harming sensitive coastal environments. However, there have been no large-scale applications of dispersants in deep water prior to the BP spill, so no data exists on the environmental fate of dispersants in deep water. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1986080/fate_of_dispersants_in_deepwater_horizon_oil_spill/
January 25, 2011 Return to the top	Century Exploration Sues U.S. Over Drill Ban Changes Century Exploration New Orleans Inc. sued the U.S. over changes in offshore drilling rules that it said made development of its $23 million Gulf of Mexico lease “commercially impractical.” The Louisiana oil company filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington today over a series of regulatory changes the Interior Department imposed on offshore exploration after the BP Plc oil spill. The Obama Administration halted all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet in May, after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon caused the worst marine oil spill in U.S. history. Regulators subsequently lifted and reinstituted multiple rounds of changes to offshore drilling policy in ways that effectively rendered Century's “lease bargain illusory,” according to the complaint. The company isn't seeking reimbursement for the $23 million it paid to acquire the lease in 2008 or the $164,150 in rental fees paid to hold the parcel until drilling begins. Instead, Century seeks damages equal to profit it could have earned on the 12.7 million barrels of oil equivalent in proven reserves and 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in probable reserves the Gulf of Mexico parcel is estimated to contain. Worst-Case Discharge Century said the expanded calculation of worst-case discharge that companies must address in their oil-spill response plans “has made it economically impracticable for Century to obtain a bond necessary to demonstrate sufficient oil spill financial responsibility.” Such a bond is required of all offshore-drilling operators. The new restrictions and safety rules caused the value of the lease's estimated proven reserves to be “significantly discounted by the senior lender at the time and subsequently by the financial markets,” according to the complaint. This discount forced Century to issue debt at 12.75 percent, “which was the highest interest rate paid by any issuer of high-yield debt in recent months,” according to the complaint. “The unpredictable manner in which the United States has promulgated its rules has coupled with conflicting and ambiguous guidance from the United States to create a veritable regulatory morass,” the company said. Ocean Energy Management Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, and Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, declined to comment on the lawsuit. http://sfgate.bloomberg.com/SFChronicle/Story/Print?docId=1376-LFLOAW6JIJUO01-3IVKMLGHR3FIPSTEBJNNCELHO8
January 19, 2011 Return to the top	Salazar, Bromwich Announce Next Steps in Overhaul of Offshore Energy Oversight and Management Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich today announced the structures and responsibilities of two new, independent agencies that will carry out the offshore energy management and enforcement functions once assigned to the former Minerals Management Service (MMS). Salazar and Bromwich also announced that they are establishing a permanent advisory body through which the nation's leading scientific, engineering, and technical experts will provide input on improving offshore drilling safety, well containment, and spill response. Secretary Salazar has asked former Sandia National Laboratory Director Tom Hunter to lead the body, which will be called the Offshore Energy Safety Advisory Committee (Safety Committee). Secretary Salazar and Director Bromwich today detailed the structure of the two bureaus that will separately house: 1) the resource development and energy management functions of BOEMRE, and 2) the safety and enforcement functions of BOEMRE. The new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will be responsible for managing development of the nation's offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Functions will include: Leasing, Plan Administration, Environmental Studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Analysis, Resource Evaluation, Economic Analysis and the Renewable Energy Program. The new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will enforce safety and environmental regulations. Functions will include: All field operations including Permitting and Research, Inspections, Offshore Regulatory Programs, Oil Spill Response, and newly formed Training and Environmental Compliance functions. Secretary Salazar and Director Bromwich said that the reforms announced today strengthen the role of environmental review and analysis in both BSEE and BOEM through various structural and organizational mechanisms, including: •The creation of a first-ever Chief Environmental Officer in BOEM; •Separating Environmental reviews from Leasing in the regions in BOEM; •The development of a new Environmental Compliance and enforcement function in BSEE; and •More prominent Oil Spill Response Plan review and enforcement in BSEE. The Department plans to have the re-organization fully implemented by October 1, 2011. See the following link for Salazar's speech from the National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Salazar's speech http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Bromwich-Announce-Next-Steps-In-Overhaul-of-Offshore-Energy-Oversight-and-Management.cfm
January 19, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Discusses Responsible Stewardship of U.S. Offshore Energy Development at the National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment WASHINGTON—Today, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered the concluding keynote address at the National Council for Science and the Environment 's National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment. Director Bromwich discussed the steps that BOEMRE is taking to renew its commitment to the responsible stewardship of our nation's resources on the Outer Continental Shelf and the re-balancing of BOEMRE's decision making processes with a renewed emphasis on acquiring and analyzing scientific information. Director Bromwich's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available at the following website: http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0119a.htm http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0119a.htm
January 19, 2011 Return to the top	Landrieu Oil-Spill Liability Bill May Force All Companies to Pay Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, plans to introduce legislation next week that would increase liability in a Gulf of Mexico oil spill and may make all drilling companies share costs of potential damage. Landrieu's legislation would create three categories of liability. The company responsible for the spill would pay as much as $250 million, and additional costs as high as $10 billion would be covered by a mutual insurance fund supported by companies in the Gulf. Damages exceeding $10 billion would be paid by the responsible party, Taylor Henry, Landrieu's spokesman, said in an e-mail today. Congress should increase the financial responsibility of drilling companies significantly, to make sure that producers and not taxpayers pick the bill for catastrophes similar to April Macondo blowout, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill said in a report Jan. 11. An effort to lift the existing $75 million cap failed in Congress last year. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/landrieu-oil-spill-liability-bill-may-force-all-companies-to-pay.html
January 13, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Industry Blasts Spill Commission Report Oil and gas leaders are fighting back against the presidential spill commission's recommendation for major changes in the way the industry and federal regulators prioritize offshore safety. Significant changes are already under way, stressed Erik Milito, upstream director for the American Petroleum Institute. He cited API's work to develop an industry safety program for deep-water operations. In a statement, Chevron said it was “confident in the safety of our drilling practices, and we are working diligently with the industry to ensure that robust drilling practices are used by all.” Randall Luthi, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said the commission gave short shrift to “industry efforts to correct and improve the system, particularly since April 20, 2010.” He noted the work of joint industry task forces to assess what went wrong and suggest changes to well design standards and safety devices. Luthi also noted the collaboration by some oil companies on a Marine Well Containment Corp., that is developing equipment that could be dispatched immediately to control a runaway well. Luthi added: “We object to the commission's insistence on there being a ‘systemic' problem throughout the industry. This is not supported by the facts. Over 43,000 wells have been drilled in the Gulf of Mexico without a Macondo-like accident. Over 14,000 wells have been drilled in the deep-water Gulf without a Macondo-like accident. This is not because the industry has been lucky. Nor does this disaster-free record show a culture of complacency. The April 20 accident cannot be taken lightly, but it should not be used as a dam to halt efforts for energy security and reliability.” David Holt, the president of the Consumer Energy Alliance, said the commission failed to “move the current energy debate past politics and toward a reasonable consensus on the best and safest way to allow Americans continued access to the energy resources they own offshore.” Commission Co-Chairman William Reilly, who previously served on the board of ConocoPhillips, said he recognized that companies want to avoid being tainted by a single horrific episode. Reilly said the commission was chiefly worried about problems at the contractor level — by companies used to help drill and seal wells for numerous operators working offshore. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/01/11/oil-industry-blasts-spill-commission-report/
January 13, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Director Discusses Strengthened Oversight at Gulf Oil Spill Series WASHINGTON —Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered remarks today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Gulf Oil Spill Series in Washington, D.C. Director Bromwich discussed lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill, ongoing regulatory reform efforts, and the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service. Director Bromwich's remarks, as prepared for delivery, can be found at the following website: http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0113.htm http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0113.htm
January 11, 2011 Return to the top	Spill Commission to Release Final Report - Live Stream Available The Oil Spill Commission is holding a press conference this morning to release its final report on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Originally scheduled for 11am EST, it has been moved up one hour.The press conference is now set to begin at 10am EST (9am CST), Tuesday, Jan. 11th. The press conference is available for Public viewing via live stream at www.OilSpillCommission.gov. www.OilSpillCommission.gov
January 11, 2011 Return to the top	Regulatory Reform and Safety Measures Recommended in Final Oil Spill Commission Report Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) - Only “urgent reform” of government rules and oil industry practices can prevent future disasters similar to BP Plc's oil spill, the presidential panel investigating the accident said in its final report. Exploration in U.S. deep waters should be overseen by an independent agency in the Interior Department, with companies paying a fee to cover the overhaul, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill said in a report released today in Washington. The agency should be led by an official with a fixed term and be shielded from political influence, according to a panel statement. To read these recommendations and others in the final report, visit www.oilspillcommission.gov. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-11/offshore-drilling-needs-urgent-reform-u-s-panel-says.html
January 05, 2011 Return to the top	Oil Spill Commission to Release Report on "Complacency", Hold Public Forum WASHINGTON — The commission studying the BP oil disaster will call for tougher federal permitting regulations and an industry-created safety organization, according to a preview by Bob Graham, a former Florida governor and U.S. senator. Graham, in an interview Tuesday with the St. Petersburg Times, said the monthslong study of the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico revealed a "culture of complacency" in the oil and gas industry that "led to a dozen or more misjudgments, failures to ask the right questions and misinterpretation of data — all of which cascaded into the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon." The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is to release its report on January 11, and hold public hearings in the gulf region. Graham, appointed by President Barack Obama as co-chairman, outlined two recommendations that will be among those in the report: -The government should give the Department of Interior far longer than the current 30 days to respond to a permit request. -The industry should form a safety organization that will set a high bar, similar to what the nuclear power and chemical sectors have done. The Commission will also hold a public forum in New Orleans on January 12. The media advisory for the forum can be found here: http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/files/documents/National_Oil_Spill_Commission_Announces_New_Orleans_Forum.pdf http://www.tampabay.com/news/bob-graham-says-oil-industry-must-address-culture-of-complacency/1143584
January 03, 2011 Return to the top	BOEMRE Provides Additional Clarity for Certain Activities Suspended under the Deepwater Moratorium WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today notified 13 companies whose deepwater drilling activities were suspended by last year's deepwater drilling moratorium that they may be able to resume those previously-approved activities without the need to submit revised exploration or development plans for supplemental National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. Before resuming those activities without additional NEPA review, however, the companies must comply with BOEMRE's new policies and regulations. “Going forward, we are substantially enhancing our environmental reviews and analysis under NEPA,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “But as we move forward, we are taking into account the special circumstances of those companies whose operations were interrupted by the moratorium and ensuring that they are able to resume previously-approved activities. For those companies that were in the midst of operations at the time of the deepwater suspensions, today's notification is a significant step toward resuming their permitted activity.” Today's notice lays out the steps these companies must take for previously-approved operations to restart. This includes compliance with new regulations and information requirements in Notices to Lessees (NTL) N06 and N10, and the Interim Final Safety Rule. These operators will not be required to revise a previously submitted Exploration Plan or Development Operations Coordination Document (DOCD) if the worst-case discharge estimated for the project, as calculated pursuant to NTL-N06, is less than the worst-case discharge estimate included by the company in its Oil Spill Response Plan. However, if the worst-case discharge exceeds the Oil Spill Response Plan, further reviews will be conducted. As described in guidance issued by BOEMRE on December 13, 2010, new exploration and development drilling operations must be conducted under new or revised plans subject to appropriate NEPA analysis (http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2010/press1213.htm). The 13 companies that received today's notice are: ATP Oil & Gas Corp., BHP Billiton Petroleum (GOM) Inc., Chevron USA Inc., Cobalt International Energy, ENI U.S. Operating Company Inc., Hess Corp., Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp., Marathon Oil Company, Murphy Exploration & Production Company – USA, Noble Energy Inc., Shell Offshore Inc., Statoil USA E & P Inc., and Walter Oil & Gas Corp. For more information on the new regulations, go to: http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/homepg/offshore/safety/well_permits.html http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0103a.htm
December 29, 2010 Return to the top	Rig Owner Refuses to Honor Oil Spill Subpoenas The owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico is refusing to honor subpoenas from a federal board that has challenged the company's involvement in monitoring the testing of a key piece of equipment that failed to stop the oil spill disaster. Transocean said the U.S. Chemical Safety Board does not have jurisdiction in the probe, so it doesn't have a right to the documents and other items it seeks. The board told The Associated Press late Wednesday that it does have jurisdiction and it has asked the Justice Department to intervene to enforce the subpoenas. Last week, the board demanded that the testing of the failed blowout preventer stop until Transocean and Cameron International are removed from any hands-on role in the examination. It said it's a conflict of interest. The request is pending. Testing at a NASA facility in New Orleans is on hold for the holidays anyway and isn't expected to resume until Jan. 10, according to officials monitoring the tests and a status update distributed to interested parties. Besides documents, the board said Transocean has also denied it access to witnesses — specifically a half-dozen of the rig company's employees the board wants to question. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12503753
December 29, 2010 Return to the top	BP's Spill Costs Look Manageable 8 Months Later As the Gulf oil spill gushed out of control, BP's financial liabilities seemed big enough to sink the company. No more. Cleanup, government fines, lawsuits, legal fees and damage claims will likely exceed the $40 billion that BP has publicly estimated, according to an Associated Press analysis. But they'll be far below the highest estimates made over the summer by legal experts and prominent Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs, which said costs could near $200 billion. For analysis of costs, see related website link. http://www.seattlepi.com/business/1310ap_us_gulf_oil_spill_bps_costs.html?source=rss
December 23, 2010 Return to the top	Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf In the Federal Register of October 14, 2010, BOEM published an interim final rule implementing certain safety measures recommended in the report entitled, "Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf'' (Safety Measures Report). The President directed the Department of the Interior to develop the Safety Measures Report to identify measures necessary to improve the safety of oil and gas exploration and development on the Outer Continental Shelf in light of the Deepwater Horizon event on April 20, 2010, and resulting oil spill. To implement the practices recommended in the Safety Measures Report, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is amending drilling regulations related to well control, including: subsea and surface blowout preventers, well casing and cementing, secondary intervention, unplanned disconnects, recordkeeping, well completion, and well plugging. This provides the official BOEMRE notice of availability for the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) for that interim rule and provides opportunity for comment. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-32173.htm
December 22, 2010 Return to the top	Gulf Oil Spill Probe May Have Been Compromised A drilling company supervisor stationed on the Deepwater Horizon rig before its April 20 explosion participated in a government-commissioned investigation of the blowout preventer that failed to stop the oil spill - a possible conflict of interest that a congressional critic says may threaten the probe's integrity. According to documents obtained by Hearst Newspapers, the Transocean Ltd. employee went so far as to manipulate equipment on the hulking 60-foot-tall, 300-ton device while a firm under contract to the U.S. government ran it through a battery of tests in New Orleans. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig - which included the blowout preventer - and BP leased it to drill the doomed Macondo well. Because the examination is essential to learning why the blowout preventer didn't work as planned, the Transocean employee's involvement raises "serious questions as to the credibility and objectivity of (the government's) investigation," said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the head of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that has taken a lead role in probing the disaster. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/21/MNIK1GU497.DTL#ixzz18qhnXf7l
December 21, 2010 Return to the top	Insurers Team Up in Bid to Boost Deep-Water Coverage WASHINGTON — A new consortium announced Tuesday aims to provide stronger insurance coverage for U.S. deep-water drilling amid congressional proposals to boost liability limits after this year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Named "SOSCover" - for "sudden oil spill coverage" - the consortium promises to offer higher insurance limits per well. The partnership brings together reinsurance intermediaries Guy Carpenter and Willis Re as well as Aon Benfield, which will manage the consortium. Munich Re initially pitched the concept. Munich Re's Torsten Jeworrek stressed that such a collaboration was essential to boosting coverage after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Grahame Chilton, Aon Benfield's chairman, said the project is still in the early stages and that "leading industry players and the oil industry will assist in the development of the terms and conditions of the sudden oil spill facility." Lawmakers have proposed raising the cap on natural resource damages and economic damages that oil companies can be forced to pay in case of a spill. A 20-year-old federal law established after the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground near Alaska sets the cap at $75 million, except in cases where a spill was caused by a violation of federal regulations or willful misconduct. Even without congressional action, some shallow-water drillers have seen their coverage requirements jump as they work to satisfy higher estimates of the "worst case discharge" - a calculation that is tied to the financial responsibility and spill response capability they must prove they can bring to bear. For more information, please see the included links: http://www.soscover.com http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7350001.html
December 17, 2010 Return to the top	Transocean Ordered to Release Safety Records A federal judge ruled Friday that Transocean must turn over a batch of safety records to a government panel investigating the deadly rig explosion that spawned the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, had balked at providing some of the safety records for its other rigs in the gulf to the panel of Coast Guard and industry regulators. Transocean argued that the records were not relevant. But Judge Carl Barbier of Federal District Court in New Orleans ruled that the panel is entitled to the documents. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/us/18brfs-TRANSOCEANOR_BRF.html
December 16, 2010 Return to the top	Federal Panel Criticizes BP and Oil Industry Over Safety Programs WASHINGTON — Federal investigators on Wednesday said BP only partially implemented a safety program recommended by the government after the 2005 blast at the company's Texas City refinery, years before the April 20 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. BP isn't alone, according to leaders of the Chemical Safety Board, who complained that the entire oil industry has ignored key lessons from past accidents and isn't doing enough to prevent them. The panel launched its first public hearing Wednesday in connection with its probe of the Macondo well blowout, which triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killed 11 workers and unleashed the nation's worst oil spill. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/7341195.html
December 16, 2010 Return to the top	Transocean Rejects Responsibility In Oil Spill Offshore drilling group Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon platform that sank off the southern US coast, rejected Thursday any responsibility for the giant oil spill. The US government filed a lawsuit Wednesday against BP and eight other companies, including Transocean, for uncounted billions of dollars in damages for the worst oil spill in US history in the Gulf of Mexico last April. Switzerland-based Transocean said in a statement emailed to AFP that it was not liable for discharges from the well owned by BP. "No drilling contractor has ever been held liable for discharges from a well under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990," a spokesman for Transocean said. "The responsibility for hydrocarbons discharged from a well lies solely with its owner and operator," he added. "This fact is made clear by both the letter and spirit of the law, is reinforced in official contracts between BP and other parties -- including Transocean and the US Government -- and was reaffirmed by BP in public statements following the incident.” "Transocean is indemnified in this matter." US Attorney General Eric Holder said the complaint alleges that "violations of safety and operational regulations" caused the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which sent nearly five million barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf. Holder said the US government intended to prove "that the defendants are therefore responsible under the Oil Pollution Act for government removal losses, economic losses, as well as environmental damages." http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/transocean_rejects_responsibility_Ts3Y47fO27iBuY0HqETblM
December 15, 2010 Return to the top	Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Civil Lawsuit Regarding Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched both criminal and civil probes into the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill during the response efforts. The DOJ dispatched dozens of top attorneys to the gulf region, and members of the Department's senior leadership have also made multiple trips to the area. For months, Department lawyers and investigators have been working night and day – and in close coordination with local U.S. Attorneys' Offices and State Attorneys General. As a result of this work, today, the United States filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans against nine defendants, including: BP Exploration and Production Inc.; Anadarko Exploration & Production LP; Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC; Triton Asset Leasing GMBH; Transocean Holdings LLC; Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc.; Transocean Deepwater Inc.; and QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd's Syndicate 1036. In the complaint, the United States alleges violations of federal safety and operational regulations, including: Failure to take necessary precautions to secure the Macondo Well prior to the April 20th explosion; Failure to utilize the safest drilling technology to monitor the well's condition; Failure to maintain continuous surveillance of the well; and Failure to utilize and maintain equipment and materials that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, property, natural resources, and the environment. The DOJ intends to prove that these violations caused or contributed to the massive oil spill, and that the defendants are therefore responsible – under the Oil Pollution Act – for government removal costs, economic losses, and environmental damages. The DOJ is also seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized discharge of oil into the nation's wate

Regulatory Actions Affecting OCS Operators

Coast Guard Approves Winding Down BP Spill Cleanup

BSEE Approves First BP Drilling Permit to Meet Enhanced Regulations

BOEM Approves First BP Exploration Plan to Meet New Standards

Anadarko Settles Spill Claims with BP for $4 Billion

U.S. Allowing BP to Bid on Leases in the Gulf

Feds Kick Off Oil Spill Sanctions Against BP, Transocean & Halliburton

Gulf Coast Lawmakers Reach Compromise on BP Oil-spill Fine Money

Bill Aimed at Restoring Gulf Goes to Full Senate

Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation Team Releases Final Report

Salazar, Bromwich Announce Proposed Rule to Further Strengthen Offshore Workplace Safety

BOEMRE Director Delivers Final Speech Before Agency Reorganization

New Offshore Drilling Rules Hinge on Deepwater Horizon Probe

Marine Well Containment Company's First Non-Member Receives Permit Approval

BP Funds Texas Researchers For Gulf Oil Spill Study

Gulf Spill Report by Marshall Islands Steers Clear of Blame

108,000 Oil-Spill Plaintiffs Get a Trial Date With BP

WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates

Republican Unveils Offshore Drilling Oversight Plan

Transocean Ltd. Announces Release of Internal Investigation Report on Causes of Macondo Well Incident

BP Agrees to Settlement with Weatherford of Potential Claims Between the Companies Related to The Deepwater Horizon Accident

Judge dismisses a batch of Gulf of Mexico oil spill court claims

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) Issues Assessement and Recommendations From the Deepwater Horizon Incident

Feds to Extend Deep-water Leases Expiring Before 2016

BOEMRE Approves 15th Drilling Permit

IADC Comments on Volume 1 (Coast Guard) of the Joint Investigation Team's Deepwater Horizon Report

Regulation Reforms at Interior: Simpler, Smarter, and More Cost-Effective

Judge Orders Action on 6 Gulf Drilling Permits

After Final Judgement, Ensco, U.S. Get More Time to Reach Deep-Water Deal

BOEMRE Approves BHP Exploration Plan

Salazar Outlines Specific Legislative Priorities for Oil, Gas

Full Text of Salazar's Statements to Senate Committee and Obama's Energy Initiatives

Taxpayers on the Hook for BP's Gulf Spill

House Passes Third Bill to Increase Drilling

Shell Wins Deep-Water Drilling Plan Approval for U.S. Gulf

U.S. House Approves Bill That Seeks To Speed Up Offshore Drilling Permits

BP Rejects Claims for Gulf Drilling-Ban Losses, Damages to Cleanup-Boats

U.S. Must Act on Six Drilling Requests Within 30 Days, Federal Judge Says

Louisiana Lawmakers Propose New BP Oil Spill Legislation

BOEMRE Seeking Senior Executives for New Bureaus

House passes Bill to Force Offshore Lease Sales This Year in Gulf and Off Coast of Virginia

Louisiana Seeks Large Share of Oil Spill Liability Money

Anadarko May Settle Some Macondo Spill Claims

Helix Adds Beefed-up Capping Stack

BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Development at OTC

Offshore Regulators Will Extend Their Reach: Service Providers, Others Fall Under Federal Oversight

JIT Publishes Addendum to Det Norske Veritas BOP Report

GOP Governors Call for More State Input on Drilling

BOEMRE to Hire Regional Leadership for New Bureau

Transcripts Available from Joint Investigation of DWH BOP

Environmental Groups File Suits to Rescind Permits

Coast Guard Investigative Report on Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Fire, Sinking Blasts Rig Owner Transocean

BP Sues Transocean and Halliburton

Transocean Files Claims Against BP, Others Related To Gulf Spill

BP Sues Maker of Blowout Preventer

Statement by Secretary Salazar Marking One-Year Anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

BOEMRE Director Discusses Future of Offshore Oil and Gas Development at Gulf Oil Spill Series

BOEMRE Completes Draft Supplemental EIS for Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale

Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee Sets Goals, Agenda

US Oil Spill Containment Firms May Work Together-BP

House Committee Acts To Stop President's de facto Drilling Moratorium

INTERVIEW-Obama's Oil Spill Chief Reflects a Year Later

Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee to Hold First Meeting

Oil Spill Containment System Ready to Roll in the Gulf

Ministerial Forum Seeks Global Solutions to Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containing Blowouts

Offshore Ministerial Forum Emphasizes Prompt Response to Spills

Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Group Gives Mixed Report Card for Wildlife

Salazar, Bromwich Visit Rig, Encouraged by Change in Drilling Culture

Gulf's Complexity and Resilience Seen in Studies of Oil Spill

Officials Consider Expanding Offshore Regulation, Oversight Beyond Well Leaseholders

Ocean Energy Bureau Gets Rare Spending Boost in Budget Deal

BOEMRE Announces New Key Positions to Further Regulatory Reform

BOEMRE Approves Operations for Tenth Deepwater Well

Bromwich: Permitting Shouldn't Wait for BOP Improvements

ATP Gains Second Deepwater Permit from BOEMRE

Blowout Preventer Manufacturer Questions Deepwater Horizon Forensic Report

Judge who Scrapped Offshore Ban Rules Feds have ‘Broad Authority' on Drilling

BOEMRE Approves Operations for Ninth Deepwater Well

BOP was Overdue for Maintenance

US Republicans Target May For Vote On Bills Requiring Oil And Gas Leases