New Arctic safety regulations go to OMB

The Department of the Interior has sent its proposed new safety regulations for oil drilling in the Arctic offshore to the White House Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, for review, according to The Hill, the congressional news outlet. At the time of going to press, the OMB had not confirmed to Petroleum News that it had received the regulations, However, the indication that a draft of the regulations has been completed suggests that the regulations are now close to be released for public review.

Companies interested in exploring for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas are waiting to see the new regulations, to evaluate how the new rules will impact their planned operations. Shell, in particular, wants to restart its Chukchi Sea drilling program in the summer of 2015 - the company will obviously need to ensure that it has the equipment, resources and expertise to comply with the new rules.

During a panel discussion in April, Mark Fesmire, Alaska regional director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said that the new rules will require well capping and oil containment systems to be available for all drilling operations. And during that same discussion William Brown, chief environmental officer for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said that the regulations should be issued in proposal form by the end of the year.

In addition to waiting for the new regulations to be issued, Shell is waiting for the resolution of an appeal against the validity of the 2008 lease sale in which the company bought its Chukchi Sea leases. As a result of a court decision in the appeal case, BOEM is currently reworking the environmental impact statement for the sale, after which the agency will need to issue a new decision on whether the sale should have taken place.

- Alan Bailey