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DOI releases well control regulations Proposed rule addresses offshore well blowout risks through new requirements for blowout preventers, well design and drilling reporting Alan Bailey Petroleum News
The Department of the Interior has published proposed new regulations for well control, for the drilling of offshore oil wells on the U.S. outer continental shelf. The proposed regulations, developed in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, place stringent requirements on well design and on the use of equipment such as blowout preventers.
“Both industry and government have taken important strides to better protect human lives and the environment from oil spills, and these proposed measures are designed to further build on critical lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and to ensure that offshore operations are safe,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, when announcing the publication of the proposed regulations on April 13. “This rule builds on enhanced industry standards for blowout preventers to comprehensively address well design, well control and overall drilling safety.”
Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said the proposed regulations would require improved control of the repair and maintenance of well control equipment such as blowout preventers.
“It would provide verification of the performance of equipment designs through third party verification, enhanced oversight of operations through real-time monitoring viewed onshore, and require operators to, during operations, utilize recognized engineering best standards that reduce risk,” Salerno said.
Publication of the proposed regulations in the Federal Register on April 15 is followed by a 60-day public comment period.
Industry knowledge Janice Schneider, assistant secretary for land and minerals management, commented on the effort that had been made in collecting the best ideas for the prevention of well control incidents and blowouts, using industry knowledge.
“This rule proposes both prescriptive and performance-based standards that are based on this extensive engagement and analysis,” Schneider said.
In an April 13 press conference, Jewell picked up on the performance based aspects of the regulations, commenting that the rule can allow for evolving new technologies by providing a mechanism for companies to propose techniques that can meet the performance standards.
“There is room in this regulation … to continue to keep up with industry best practices, as long as it can be demonstrated that they will do as good or a better job than was proposed in the regulations,” Jewell said.
Salerno said that Interior had estimated the total cost to industry of implementing the requirements specified in the regulations to be $883 million over 10 years. However, Jewell pointed out that, with many drilling operators having already put many of the requirements into place, that cost is not incremental to the new rule being implemented. And the cost is small in relation to the cost of a major blowout incident such as the Deepwater Horizon, Schneider commented.
Double shear rams The new regulations require the use of blowout preventers with double shear rams, the devices used to cut through and seal the drill pipe of an out-of control well. Having two rams at an appropriate spacing, rather than one ram, dramatically reduces the possibility of some non-severable joint or other feature of the piping impeding the shearing operation, Salerno told the April 13 press conference. According to information provided by BSEE the double shear ram requirement follows a specification that is already a baseline industry standard.
In addition, the regulations require the use of technology that centers the drill pipe during a shearing operation - piping that had shifted off center in the blowout preventer is believed to be a reason for the failure of the blowout preventer in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Other blowout preventer requirements include the incorporation of up-to-date industry standards and requirements for the design, manufacture, repair and maintenance of the devices. And the regulations require an annual review by a BSEE-approved third party of blowout preventer repair and maintenance records. Under the proposed rule, third-party certification of a blowout preventer’s shearing capability would also become more rigorous.
An operator would need to report any blowout preventer failure data, and information about control system leaks, to BSEE.
And the proposed regulations set performance objective and standards for remote operated vehicles used to assist in closing blowout preventer stacks.
BOP testing frequency BSEE would require blowout preventers used during well workover operations to be tested at the same frequency as the testing done for blowout preventers used for regular drilling. However, the agency is also requesting comments on whether the mandated frequency of testing should be reduced from every 14 days to every 21 days, or possibly increased to every seven days.
BSEE is also considering the mandated use of equipment that could shear through any drill string component, rather than just straightforward drill pipe. Given that this type of shearing capability does not currently exist, the agency is requesting comments on the concept, rather than requiring its use at this time.
The proposed regulations require shore-based, real-time monitoring of offshore drilling operations that involve deep water and high temperatures or high pressures. This arrangement, which would also apply to certain high-risk wells in shallow water, would enable technical experts onshore to provide a “second set of eyes,” observing what is happening. BSEE staff would have access to this capability.
In terms of improved drilling safety, the proposed regulations set required criteria for safe drilling margins between downhole drilling fluid weights and rock pore pressures. And there are specified performance criteria for drilling and completion equipment. New guidelines would set obligations for the appropriate use of well casing centralizers to ensure the effective cementing of a well.
Drilling safety There are also new requirements for the safe decommissioning of wells.
In an April 13 statement Steven Colville, president and CEO of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, said that the drilling industry has already been applying lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
“IADC welcomes regulation that is both sensible and transparent and we are very interested in the opportunity to work with BSEE on regulation that enables operations while protecting our people and the environment,” Colville said. “IADC’s members will be participating in joint industry workgroups to carefully consider and prepare a response to the finer points of this comprehensive and detailed proposal.”
The Wilderness Society issued a statement urging finalization of regulations as soon as possible, in the interests of preventing another offshore drilling disaster.
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