Shell is set to launch a new round of drilling in just a few days but needed the critical drilling permits. But after receiving them from the Department of the Interior, the limitations on how deep the company can drill may force the company to halt work thousands of feet above possible oil deposits.
The Interior department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the multi-national oil company would need to request permission to drill deeper, and only after it had a vessel capable of deploying a “capping stack,” a safety device for preventing oil spills.
“Without question, activities conducted offshore Alaska must be held to the highest safety, environmental protection and emergency response standards,” said the bureau’s director, Brian Salerno, reports RT.com.
Under the restricted permits, Shell can only focus on one oil well at a time. The company is not allowed to penetrate any oil-and-gas-bearing zones some 8,000 feet underground. Shell is also waiting on the MSV Fennica, a damaged company-contracted icebreaker, to return from Oregon after repairs are made on its damaged hull.
The Fennica is one of two icebreakers Shell has in its Arctic fleet, but the Fennica is unique because it holds a “capping-stack” set to be deployed over a damaged well in an emergency. It also carries the equipment that can be deployed in case of an oil spill.
The Obama administration’s OK on this year’s drilling was made despite the failure of a specialized containment dome that was damaged in Shell’s 2012 Arctic drilling operations. At that time, federal regulators allowed Shell to only drill “top-holes” to a depth of 1300 feet (400 meters), on the site.
The same limitation on drilling of “top-holes” is in the 2015 permits. Shell will have to file new paperwork once they have a vessel capable of capping a well within 24 hours. Until the Fennica is available, Shell is boxed into a limited area of operations. Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh told the Associated Press drilling will begin as soon as the area is clear of sea ice, according to RT.com.
Shell has a relatively small window of operation in drilling in the Arctic, with the short open-water exploration season starting around July 15 and ending Sept. 28. Added to this is Shell being limited to drilling one well at a time, rather than the two wells simultaneously, maximizing the short open-water season to their benefit.
Shell has also invested $7 billion and seven years in Arctic oil exploration. When the Fennica does arrive on site, Shell will have to refile paperwork to get permission for deeper drilling, and there is no guarantee they will get the go-ahead.
Of course, Shell is having to contend with a Fish and Wildlife Service ruling that marine mammal protections require a 15-mile buffer zone around simultaneous drilling activities. The two planned wells are just 8.9 miles apart. The same wildlife rules apply by blocking Shell from conducting ice management operations in the Hanna Shoal from July to August because that area is a prime walrus feeding ground.
