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BOEMRE approves GOM deepwater well
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has issued its first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the agency announced Feb. 28. The permit will allow operator Noble Energy to drill a bypass well around plugs set in a deepwater Gulf of Mexico well when that well was suspended in June 12, 2010. The suspension occurred under a drilling moratorium issued by the Department of the Interior in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident.
The well now permitted is Well No. 2 in Mississippi Canyon Block 519, approximately 70 miles southeast of Venice, La. Drilling of the well began on April 16, 2010, in 6,500 feet of water.
BOEMRE milestone “This permit represents a significant milestone for us and for the offshore oil and gas industry, and is an important step towards safely developing deepwater energy supplies offshore,” said BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich. “This permit was issued for one simple reason: The operator successfully demonstrated that it can drill its deepwater well safely and that it is capable of containing a subsea blowout if it were to occur. We expect further deepwater permits to be approved in coming weeks and months based on the same process that led to the approval of this permit.”
BOEMRE said that it reviewed Noble Energy’s oil containment capability and that Noble has contracted for the use of Helix Well Containment Group’s capping stack to stop the flow of oil should a well control problem occur.
According to the Noble Energy website, the permitted well is targeting the Santiago prospect at a depth of about 19,000 feet, with the well reaching a depth of 13,585 feet at the time drilling was suspended. There have been multiple media reports that BP has a majority working interest in the prospect.
—Alan Bailey
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