On Aug. 17 the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said it had issued a revised drilling permit, allowing Shell to drill its Chukchi Sea Burger J well into potential hydrocarbon bearing zones.
Shell started drilling the well on July 30 using the semi-submersible drilling rig the Transocean Polar Pioneer but, in the absence of the company’s capping stack, an essential item of safety equipment for drilling into oil-bearing rocks, the company’s initial drilling permit prohibited drilling into hydrocarbons. The capping stack, which needs to be deployable within 24 hours at the drilling location, is housed on the icebreaker the M/V Fennica. The Fennica had to be repaired in Portland, Oregon, after sustaining damage near Dutch Harbor in early July - as a consequence the capping stack was not available in the Chukchi when Shell’s drilling started.
Fennica in place
But, having been repaired, the Fennica is now on station in the Chukchi with the capping stack, thus enabling BSEE to allow drilling into hydrocarbons. BSEE says that it has placed its own safety inspectors on both the Polar Pioneer and Shell’s other rig, the Noble Discoverer, to provide continuous oversight of operations on the rigs. Shell is exploring for oil in the Burger prospect, in 140 feet of water about 70 miles northwest of the coastal village of Wainwright.
Although Shell has two rigs in the Chukchi, restrictions associated with U.S. Fish and Wildlife authorization for the disturbance of polar bears and walruses prevent Shell from drilling more than one well at a time at Burger.
“Activities conducted offshore Alaska are being held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards,” said BSEE Director Brian Salerno when announcing the issue of the revised drilling permit. “Now that the required well control system is in place and can be deployed, Shell will be allowed to explore into oil-bearing zones for Burger J. We will continue to monitor their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship.”
“We remain committed to operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner and look forward to evaluating what could potentially become a national energy resource base,” Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino told Petroleum News in an Aug. 17 email.
Drilling continues
The Polar Pioneer has completed the seafloor mudline cellar for housing the Burger J well’s blowout preventer and has been drilling the top section of the well.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news for Alaska’s economy and our nation’s energy security,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski in response to the issue of the revised drilling permit. “Shell has spent years preparing to fully explore its leases in the Arctic offshore. The responsible development of those resources will create jobs and provide a badly needed long-term supply of oil for the trans-Alaska pipeline, ensuring that we continue to be a major energy supplier well into the future.”
Environmental organizations remain vehemently opposed to Arctic offshore oil drilling and condemned BSEE’s permitting action.
“President Obama is willing to allow the pristine Chukchi Sea to become an energy sacrifice zone and worsen climate disruption,” said Marissa Knodel, climate campaigner for Friends of the Earth, in an Aug. 17 statement. “President Obama should know better - Shell has no business in our Arctic Ocean, and he will bear responsibility for the damage that Shell wreaks there.”
