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MAJOR oil producers have established a system to contain well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico as exploration and drilling activity regains momentum in the region.

BHP Billiton is the latest company to become a member of the Marine Well Containment Company, joining ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, Apache and Anadarko in the organisation whose motto is: “Engineer it. Build it. And make sure it’s never needed.”

In February the company said it had an initial-response system ready for deployment in water depths up to 8,000 ft with a storage and processing capacity of up to 60,000 bbl/d. Its subsea capping stack has a maximum operating pressure of 15,000 psi with the ability to shut oil flow or direct it via flexible pipes and risers to surface vessels. The system also includes subsea dispersant injection equipment and storage vessels provided by members.

An expanded system, due to be available next year, will be able to operate in depths of up to 10,000 ft with the capacity to contain 100,000 bbl/d of liquid and 200m ft³/d of gas.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) reported yesterday that it has received 49 deepwater-drilling permit applications subject to new safety and environmental requirements, which include demonstrable subsea containment capability.

BOEMRE has returned 24 applications with requests for additional information, particularly concerning subsea containment. Eleven have been approved with 12 pending and two withdrawn.

In the last week BOEMRE granted Shell a permit to drill a new well in Garden Banks Block 427 in 2,721 ft of water depth approximately 137 miles off the Louisiana coastline and ENI Petroleum gained approval for a well in Mississippi Canyon Block 460 at a depth of 2,823 ft approximately 57 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana.