Shell Chukchi Sea Oil Spill Response Plan Approved

On 17th February 2012, US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced the next steps toward energy exploration activities in shallow waters in the Arctic during a limited period in the summer. The steps include: the approval by DOI's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) of Shell Gulf of Mexico's Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) for the Chukchi Sea; coordinated exercises and emergency response planning by US agencies in the Arctic; expanded scientific work, information collection and data-sharing among agencies, industry, and research institutions to inform Arctic planning; and undertaking long-term, landscape-scale planning for the Arctic. 

BSEE's approval of Shell's OSRP for the Chukchi Sea follows the review of the plan and consultations with federal and state partner agencies involved in Arctic preparedness. Consistent with new regulatory requirements implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Shell was required to prepare for a worst-case discharge nearly five times that of their previous plan, to include planning for adverse weather conditions, and to develop special equipment and strategies that could respond to a loss of well control and a spill. 

Shell has committed to provide for the following emergency contingencies: the availability of a capping stack to shut off any flow of oil if other shut-off systems fail; the capability to capture and collect oil from that stack; and access to a rig capable of drilling a relief well that could kill the well, if necessary. The ready availability of a capping stack and an oil collection system are new commitments that apply lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy to offshore oil and gas production activities. 

Shell has proposed drilling up to six wells in the Chukchi Sea during the next two summer open water seasons within the Burger Prospect, located about 70 miles off the coast in approximately 140 feet of water. 

The approval does not authorise Shell to begin drilling; Shell must still seek and obtain approval from BSEE for well-specific drilling permits prior to commencing operations, and BSEE would inspect and approve equipment that has been designed and deployed for the effort, including Shell's capping stack, before activities could go forward. 

Additional steps have been taken in conjunction with the review and approval of Shell's exploration and response plans, including: an analysis of the relevant reservoir pressures that are likely to be encountered during any exploratory drilling; these pressures are known based on information collected during exploratory drilling activity that has occurred in previous years in similar reservoirs in the Chukchi Sea; and a requirement that Shell terminate drilling into any hydrocarbon-bearing zones 38 days prior to 1^st November so that if an accident were to occur, all capping, response and well killing operations could be conducted in open water before ice forms in Chukchi waters.