Feds OK Shell's Emergency Response Plan for Arctic Drilling - many documents online

That Shell Arctic drilling “emergency plan”… What could possibly go wrong?
Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2012, 11:28 am by GottaLaff



Before going any further, I have to say up front that I am dead set against offshore drilling, especially in the Arctic where cleaning up another catastrophic mess would be much more challenging than the Deepwater Horizon one that is still affecting Gulf Coast residents.

After the BP disaster, IMHO it’s unthinkable that we’d so much as consider our outdated, insane quest to further destroy what’s left of our environment by trying to suck up the remaining finite goo supply. But that is exactly what we’re doing.

L.A. Times:
The Obama administration on Friday approved Shell Gulf of MexicoInc.’s plan for responding to an accident should it occur in the Chukchi Sea. The company hopes to begin exploratory drilling there, 70 miles off the northwest coast of Alaska, in June.

The issue of how to clean up a spill in the remote waters, 1,000 miles from the nearest U.S. Coast Guard base, has proved to be the biggest impediment to opening the most significant new frontier in U.S. energy development. But Interior Department officials said a robust plan is in place that could protect the fragile environment even in the event of a large blowout.

“After an exhaustive review, we have confidence that Shell’s plan includes the necessary equipment and personnel pre-staging, training, logistics and communications to act quickly and mount an effective response should a spill occur,” said James A. Watson, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Dandy. Just dandy. Why am I not feeling reassured? Here’s why:

The plan calls for a fleet of oil-spill response vessels to be on hand at all times, along with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. It also calls for a specially designed capping and containment system, still under construction and testing, that would be able to contain and store an accidental release of up to 80,000 barrels a day.

What could possibly go wrong?

by Bob Berwyn - http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/02/18/feds-ok-shells-emergency-response-plan-for-arctic-drilling/



A NASA satellite view of the Alaska coastline and the Chukchi Sea.

Oil company commits to unprecedented safeguards to prevent an oil disaster in the Arctic, but will it be enough?

By Summit Voice

Oil drilling in the frigid Arctic waters off Alaska could begin as early as June, after the Obama administration this week approved an emergency response plan proposed by Shell.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the response plan heeds the lessons of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The company was required to prepare a plan for a worst-case discharge nearly five times more than the amount envisioned by the previous plan, including a specific response for adverse weather conditions. The company’s new plan also includes equipment and strategies to respond to a loss of well control and a spill.

Those plans haven’t been reviewed by any independent experts yet, and will almost certainly be challenged by conservation groups and some native coastal residents opposed to drilling.


Opposition to Arctic drilling has philosophical roots, as conservation groups press their campaign to move away from fossil fuels altogether. That goes hand in hand with very real environmental concerns, including potential impacts to bowhead whales, polar bears and other ice-dependent species.

Some studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have concluded that there isn’t yet enough baseline data on Arctic ecosystems to make well-grounded decisions on drilling, but the Obama administration — under political pressure in an election year — claims that its approval is science-based.

For now, Shell has committed to making sure it can shut off the flow of oil with a capping stack if other shut-offs and containment systems fail, as well as the ability to capture and collect oil from that stack.

The plan also commits Shell to having 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 theDeepwater Horizon tragedy to offshore oil and gas production activities, according to the Department of Interior.

“Alaska’s energy resources – onshore and offshore, conventional and renewable – hold great promise and economic opportunity for the people of Alaska and across the nation,” said Secretary Salazar. “In the Arctic frontier, cautious exploration – under the strongest oversight, safety requirements, and emergency response plans ever established – can help us expand our understanding of the area and its resources, and support our goal of continuing to increase safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production. We are taking a cautious approach, one that will help inform the wise decisions of tomorrow.”

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.

“After an exhaustive review, we have confidence that Shell’s plan includes the necessary equipment and personnel pre-staging, training, logistics and communications to act quickly and mount an effective response should a spill occur,” said BSEE Director James A. Watson. “Our staff will maintain vigilant oversight over Shell to ensure that they adhere to this plan, and that all future drilling operations are conducted safely with a focus toward spill prevention.”

The approval does not authorize 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.

Drilling activities would end in October to enable all capping, response and well killing operations could be conducted in open water before ice forms in Chukchi waters. More information on the oil spill response requirements follows:

THE BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT

http://www.bsee.gov/BSEE-Newsroom/Offshore-Stats-and-Facts/Alaska-Region/Historical-Drilling---Operations-Information.aspx

More of the story...

Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. - Chukchi Sea 2012 Project

On May 12, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) received from Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. (Shell) a Revised Exploration Plan (EP) and associated Revised Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan in support of a proposed exploration drilling program on its Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf leases.

Activities involving Chukchi Sea leases acquired by Lease Sale 193 are restricted because of a remand issued by the Federal Court for the Alaska District on July 21, 2010. Unlike Shell’s recent revised EP for Camden Bay (Beaufort Sea), submitted to BOEMRE on May 4, 2011, BOEMRE cannot approve any EPs in the Chukchi at this time. Therefore, BOEMRE is treating the Chukchi EP as a draft.

The Bureau will not take any official action on the draft EP unless the Secretary of the Interior chooses to reaffirm Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193 following the environmental analysis in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

Shell’s draft EP has been posted for information purposes only. BOEMRE will provide notice if and when an EP is deemed submitted.

Shell Offshore Inc.'s Chukchi Sea Revised Exploration Plan (162 pages, 10MB)

Appendices:

Appendix A - Outer Continental Shelf Plan Information Forms (12 pages, 253KB)

Appendix B - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Notice of Intent (104 pages, 3.3MB)

Appendix C - Application for National Marine Fisheries Service Incidental Harassment Authorization (164 pages, 3.4MB)

Appendix D - Marine Mammal Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (32 pages, 2.4KM)

Appendix E - Application for U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serice Letter of Authorization (64 pages, 2.1MB)

Appendix F - Environmental Impact Analysis (526 pages, 25MB)

Appendix G - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 8 (10 pages, 955KB)

Appendix H - Plan of Cooperation Addendum (180 pages, 33.9MB)

Appendix I - Bird Strike Avoidance and Lighting Plan, Chukchi Sea, Alaska (38 pages, 3.7KB)

Appendix J - Critical Operations and Curtailment Plan (16 pages, 466KB)

Appendix K - Ice Management Plan (40 pages, 3.7MB)

Appendix L - Well Control Plan (6 pages, 228KB)

Appendix M - Fuel Transfer Plan (22 pages, 762KB)

Appendix M - H2S Contingency Plan for M/V Noble Discoverer (186 pages, 3.4MB)

Complete, Downloadable Exploration Plan with Appendices (1,564 pages, 89MB)

Master List of Oil Spill Response Research



Welding steel in the Gulf of Mexico Steel is still the major material used in construction of platforms and rigs on the outer continental shelf.

For more than 25 years, the BSEE Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has maintained a comprehensive, long-term research program to improve oil spill response technologies. The OSRR program is an openly-cooperative effort bringing together funding and expertise from research partners in state and federal government agencies, industry, academia, and the international community for the sole purpose of participating in research and development projects. Many of these projects are Joint Industry Projects, where partners with other stakeholders to maximize research dollars. The table below contains a master list of funded OSRR projects.

http://www.boemre.gov/tarprojectcategories/MasterListofOSRRProjects.htm

Oil Spill Response and Research (OSRR) Program

Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement (BSEE) is the principal United States federal agency that through the Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) Program, funds oil spill response research. For more than 25 years, the Bureau has maintained a comprehensive, long-term research program to improve oil spill response technologies. The major focus of the program is to improve the knowledge and technologies used for the detection, containment and cleanup of oil spills that may occur on the U. S. Outer Continental Shelf.

The OSRR program is responsive to the information and technological needs of the Bureau’s regional and district offices and to specific requirements and limitations in the BSEE authority. Information derived from the OSRR program is directly integrated into BSEE’s offshore operations and is used to make regulatory decisions pertaining to permitting and approving plans, safety and pollution inspections, enforcement actions, and training requirements. Conducting an effective OSRR program means that the best available response technologies are identified, developed and made available to combat any spills that may occur. Response technologies identified by the OSRR program focus on preventing offshore operational spills reaching sensitive coastal environments and habitats.

The BSEE OSRR program is an openly-

cooperative effort bringing together funding and expertise from research partners in government agencies, industry, and the international community for the sole purpose of participating in research and development (R&D) projects. Many of these projects are Joint Industry Projects, where the Bureau partners with other stakeholders to maximize research dollars. The Bureau has cooperated in the exchange of technological information with Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom through informal contacts, workshops, and technical meetings such as the International Oil Spill Conference. Most procurements of R&D projects are competitive. Requests for White Papers and proposals are prepared by the BSEE OSRR program staff and published in a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) that is published in FedBizOps. Contractors are selected by the Bureau based on responsiveness to BSEE requirements, technical quality, and estimated costs of the proposed work.

The BSEE disseminates the results of R&D projects as widely as possible in publications through appropriate scientific and technical journals, technical reports, and public information documents. The intent is to make this information widely available to oil spill response personnel and organizations world wide.

Funding for the OSRR program and operation of Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility are appropriated from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF). The OSLTF received funds from a $0.05 tax on each barrel of oil produced or imported into or out of the United States. This tax was suspended when the fund reached $1 billion dollars. Currently funds for the OSLTF are derived from interest on the fund, cost recovery from responsible parties, and penalties. The tax can be re-implemented if the fund falls below the billion dollar level. As intended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, potential polluters, companies that produce and transport oil are supporting research to improve oil spill response capabilities.

The current OSRR projects cover a wide spectrum of oil spill response issues and include laboratory, meso-scale and full-scale field experiments. Major topic areas include:
Remote sensing and detection
Physical and chemical properties of crude oil
Mechanical containment and recovery
Chemical treating agents and dispersants
In situ burning
Deepwater operations
Operation of Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

The link below will take you to a table that contains a master list of all BSEE funded OSRR projects.

For more information on BSEE Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) Program,
http://www.boemre.gov/taroilspills/