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Shell has to be able to deploy the capping stack at 24 hours notice
23/07/2015
Shell barred from drilling in Arctic oil zone
Capping stack delayed after icebreaker damaged
Richard Jansen-Parkes
SHELL’S ambitious Arctic exploration bid has been hit by bad luck once again, after US officials declared that its hunt for oil will not actually be allowed to drill deep enough to find any until delayed safety equipment is delivered.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has conditionally approved Shell’s exploration plans in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. However, it says that for the time being any drilling will have to be restricted to the top layers of rock, as the company does not have access to critical safety equipment that may be needed if it struck oil.
BSEE rules require that Shell be able to deploy a capping stack – a critical piece of emergency response equipment designed to shut in a well in the event of an accident – within 24 hours. However, the icebreaker that was carrying the capping stack had a meter-long gash torn in its hull on the way to the Arctic, and has had to be sent back to a harbour in Portland, Oregon, for repairs. Fixing the damage and sailing back to Alaska could take several weeks.
“Without question, activities conducted offshore Alaska must be held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards,” says BSEE director Brian Salerno. “Without the required well control system in place, Shell will not be allowed to drill into oil-bearing zones.”
Shell says that it does not believe that the restrictions will damage its efforts too badly, however. It expects that the icebreaker and its valuable cargo will be able to return to the Arctic before the drilling hits oil-bearing rock anyway.
The latest setback is one of many that have afflicted Shell’s Arctic ambitions in recent years, which have ranged from damage to key safety equipment, legal difficulties and the grounding of a rig that broke free of tow lines in rough seas. The company is thought to have spent several billion dollars on the project to date and as yet has very little to show for its efforts.
