(03\/24\/2011)<\/p>\n
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter<\/p>\n
The Interior Department today announced it has issued a fifth permit
\nfor deepwater drilling previously banned under last year’s moratorium
\nand the first such permit for an unexplored oil and gas deposit.<\/p>\n
The approval allows Chevron USA Inc. to drill a “wildcat” well in 6,750
\nfeet of water more than 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana.<\/p>\n
The well is the first to be approved since the BP PLC oil spill last
\nApril that targets a reservoir or field that is yet to be explored,
\nInterior said. The revised permit allows Chevron to resume work on a
\nwell it began drilling a year ago but stopped during a mandatory
\nsuspension in June 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon spill.<\/p>\n
“Today’s permit approval further demonstrates industry’s ability to
\nmeet and satisfy the enhanced safety requirements associated with
\ndeepwater drilling, including the capability to contain a deepwater
\nloss of well control and blowout,” said Michael Bromwich, director of
\nInterior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and
\nEnforcement, in a statement. “We will continue to review and approve
\nthose applications that demonstrate the ability to operate safely in
\ndeep water.”<\/p>\n
Chevron said it will use a capping mechanism developed by the Marine
\nWell Containment Co. to stop the flow of oil in the case of a runaway
\nwell.<\/p>\n
The approval was deemed a “milestone” by the National Ocean Industries
\nAssociation, a trade group.<\/p>\n
“We are, of course, pleased with the previous four permits, but today’s
\napproval of a permit for truly new deepwater exploration in the Gulf of
\nMexico is particularly noteworthy,” NOIA President Randall Luthi said
\nin a statement. “We are encouraged that the backlog of permit
\napplications is slowly growing smaller, and that some of our member
\ncompanies who were sidelined for the past year will soon get back to
\nwork in the Gulf.”<\/p>\n
The permit marks the third deepwater permit issued in the last week by
\nInterior. The agency at the start of the week had approved 26
\nadditional deepwater permits for activities including water injection
\nwells to boost existing production and for other drilling activities
\nthat involve fixed rigs or surface blowout preventers.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the agency approved the first deepwater exploration plan
\nsince the BP spill, a proposal by Shell Offshore Inc. to drill three
\nnew wells more than 100 miles off Louisiana<\/p>\n
(E&ENews PM, March 21).<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(03\/24\/2011) Phil Taylor, E&E reporter The Interior Department today announced it has issued a fifth permit for deepwater drilling previously banned under last year’s moratorium and the first such permit for an unexplored oil and gas deposit. The approval allows Chevron USA Inc. to drill a “wildcat” well in 6,750 feet of water more than … Continue reading Energy & Environment: Interior approves first ‘wildcat’ well in deepwater Gulf<\/span>