IADC seeks shallow Gulf drilling reprieve

The International Association of Drilling Contractors is seeking a reprieve for drilling operations in the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico. Currently, IADC said in a May 13 press release, all new drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is under an “interdiction” scheduled to last at least three weeks.

IADC believes that prohibiting new drilling in water depths less than 1,000 feet that use blowout preventers located above the sea surface will unnecessarily cause the loss of thousands of jobs and could spur business insolvencies. The association is seeking an exemption from the drilling ban for this type of operation, as well as a clarification of the rule.

“The current spill in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by an operation in 5,000 feet of water using blowout preventers on the seabed,” said Lee Hunt, president of IADC. “In contrast, drilling in less than 1,000 feet of water using blowout preventers above the sea surface is very different. To ban this type of drilling is unnecessary, either to protect human safety or the environment and will put thousands of hard-working people out of work and the economies of coastal Louisiana parishes.

Hunt said there were “numerous” differences between shallow-water and deepwater operations, including the following: while deepwater primarily explores and develops oil resources, in shallow water the resource is primarily natural gas; oil remaining in shallow-water reservoirs has largely been produced and is under-pressured, limiting its ability to spew out of control; in shallow water, the sea bed can be much more easily accessed for intervention by remote craft and even divers; and temperatures in shallow water are much warmer than in deep water, forestalling the formation of crystallized gas hydrates.

Typically, wells drilled by jack-up rigs in shallow water take 15-40 days. Should the current ban continue through July 1, IADC estimates that some 60 percent of Gulf of Mexico rigs could be idled.

For more information, visit the IADC website at www.iadc.org.

—Petroleum News