Buccaneer gets Cosmo spill plan approved

Buccaneer Energy Ltd. is on the verge of drilling at Cosmopolitan.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has approved a spill plan for a local subsidiary of the Australian independent to drill at the offshore Cook Inlet prospect.

The plan allows Buccaneer to drill at Cosmopolitan between April 15 and Oct. 31. An additional spill plan covering the winter months remains under review, according to the DEC. The approved plan would also cover summer drilling at Southern Cross or Northwest Cook Inlet, the two offshore units Buccaneer operates in the upper Cook Inlet.

Additionally, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission recently issued a drilling permit for Buccaneer to drill the Cosmo No. 1 well off the coast of Cape Starichkof.

Buccaneer said it expected to use its Endeavour jack-up drilling rig to drive conductor pipe by April 17, at which point the AOGCC would complete its inspections on the rig, which includes watching a test of critical equipment, such as the blow-out preventer.

Toward the end of last year, Buccaneer began permitting two wells at Cosmopolitan.

Previously, Buccaneer said it planned to explore for both oil and natural gas at the oil-prone prospect, but said it may limit its target to natural gas at one of the two wells.

With the spill plan, the company can explore for both oil and gas.

—Eric Lidji