New safety rules for offshore Arctic drilling proposed to avoid repeat of Shell disaster
Source: The Guardian
New safety rules for offshore Arctic drilling proposed to avoid repeat of Shell disaster
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday 20 February 2015 21.40 GMT
The Obama administration proposed new rules for Arctic oil drilling on Friday in an attempt to avoid repeating Shell’s disastrous foray into extreme waters.
The proposals, shaped by the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the grounding of Shell’s drill ship in the Arctic two years later, are aimed at making sure companies could handle a blow-out in remote and icy conditions – without inflicting an environmental disaster on the pristine seas.
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Under the proposals, oil companies would be forced to submit detailed and Arctic-specific safety plans, covering the entire range of operations. Companies would also have to demonstrate they could respond to a blow-out, including the capability to deploy a capping stack to plug the well within 24 hours, and a containment system within seven days.
Companies would also be required to operate with a separate back-up rig nearby, and to demonstrate they would be able to drill a relief well within a single short Arctic drilling season.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/20/new-safety-rules-for-offshore-arctic-drilling
