The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, is reviewing nine Shell applications for permits to drill top-hole wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, Marcilynn Burke, acting assistant secretary, lands and mineral management, U.S. Department of the Interior, told the Arctic Oil and Gas Congress on Sept. 18. Shell submitted applications for 10 wells and BSEE has already issued one of those permits, Burke said, presumably referring to the permit for the Burger-A well that Shell has already started drilling.
“Shell submitted a total of 10 APDs (applications for permits to drill), six for the Chukchi, four for the Beaufort, and BSEE is reviewing now the remaining nine APDs,” Burke said.
BSEE will have an inspector on board Shell’s drilling vessel for each of the drilling operations, she said. Shell, having abandoned its plan to complete some exploration wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas this year, now wants to drill some top-hole wells to depths above any hydrocarbon bearing zones, to enable wells to be drilled more quickly in 2013.
“We will continue to work with Shell as we oversee that drill work and also gather more information in preparation for next year’s season,” Burke said. “While many are disappointed in the sequence of events that occurred, we are still moving forward with Shell … with some activities, and that is something that will be useful for all of us in the future,” she said.
Burke said that both BSEE and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are continuing to hold conversations with ConocoPhillips and Statoil about their future submissions of exploration plans and oil spill response plans for Chukchi Sea drilling. ConocoPhillips is interested in drilling in 2014, while Statoil may drill in 2015.
“We’ll all sit back and look at what we’ve learned this year and be prepared to move forward,” Burke said.
On Sept. 20 BSEE announced that it had issued a permit, allowing Shell to prepare mudline cellars and to drill and set the first two strings of casings in shallow non-oil-bearing zones for wells in the Beaufort Sea. Mudline cellars, in the seafloor, accommodate the wellhead equipment for subsea wells.
“BSEE has set the bar high for exploration activities in the Arctic, and any approved operations must meet those standards,” said BSEE Director Jim Watson in announcing the issue of the permit. “BSEE continues to closely monitor Shell’s ongoing approved preparatory drilling activities in the Chukchi Sea, and today’s approval of limited work in the Beaufort Sea must also meet the same rigorous safety, environmental protection and emergency response standards.”
—Alan Bailey
