BSEE developing new Arctic regulations

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, is developing new regulations for offshore oil and gas operations in the Arctic, Mark Fesmire, BSEE’s Alaska regional director, told the K&L Gates Alaska Oil and Gas Conference on July 10.

“BSEE is expediting the development of new Arctic standards and regulations,” Fesmire said. “The regulations will go through the normal Administrative Procedures Act rule-making process.”

In the interests of developing appropriate draft regulations prior to the start of the formal public process, thus making the formal rule making as efficient as possible, BSEE is in the process of holding meetings with various stakeholders, including private organizations, local governments and oil companies, to discuss the agency’s proposals. “We’re contacting those people and talking to them about these regulations before we start the formal process,” Fesmire said.

Fesmire told Petroleum News that BSEE hopes to start the formal rule-making process in December.

People can expect new rules for the Arctic to include requirements for the use of best available and safest technology, Fesmire told conference attendees. And BSEE is taking into account unique aspects of operating in the Arctic, including issues surrounding the securing of a well at the end of the Arctic open water season; the possibility of having to move a rig from a drilling site because of encroaching sea ice or severe weather; and the need to avoid interference with bowhead whale migration and the associated subsistence hunting, Fesmire said. Also, with no deepwater port on the coast of the North Slope, companies will generally have to bring their own logistics capabilities to the Arctic offshore, he said.

BSEE has been recruiting new staff to support its Arctic activities, but budget sequestration in Washington, D.C., has brought the hiring process to a halt at the moment, Fesmire said.

—Alan Bailey