NSB weighs in on AOGCC regulations

Responding to a request by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for input to its enquiry into whether changes are needed to the commission’s regulations for offshore drilling, on Sept. 14 North Slope Borough Mayor Edward Itta sent a letter to the commission with 42 recommendations for regulatory changes that the borough thinks will improve Arctic drilling safety.

“There are many unique limitations in the Arctic that must be considered and addressed during the decision-making process,” Itta said. “Well control and other spill prevention technologies must address Arctic-specific conditions and Arctic-specific risks.”

The borough recommendations include a requirement that operators use Arctic-grade drilling rigs and a request that AOGCC should revise its method of determining worst case oil discharge rates for well blowouts. Other recommendations include the mandated availability of well capping and containment systems when drilling; the required availability during drilling operations of a backup drilling rig for relief well drilling, with relief wells planned prior to the drilling of the primary well; sufficient time allowed at the end of a drilling season for relief well drilling; the use of two independent well barrier systems for well control; and the required on-site presence of well control experts.

The borough also wants to see a tightening of the regulations that relate to the use of well blowout preventers, and that relate to the casing and cementing of wells.

Any future development drilling after exploration has been completed at a future oil field should have to take place from a gravel island or bottom founded structure, unless some alternative is found to be environmentally preferable, the borough says.

—Alan Bailey