The operation of drilling an offshore oil and gas well provides for economic development and supports as many as 450 new jobs. As Energy Week concludes, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s well permit approvals in 2017 total 69. Approval of a well permit paves the way for an offshore operator to begin the drilling activity and initiates a vast project supported by drilling crews and service and supply contractors.
The drillship Noble Globetrotter I has been used by Shell Offshore Inc. at several sites in the Gulf of Mexico, most recently at Alaminos Canyon 772, a lease block near it's Perdido Spar.
“I believe BSEE holds the potential to move the U.S. offshore energy program forward in both energy production and economic development, and done in a safe and environmentally-responsible manner,” BSEE Director Scott Angelle said today. “Overall, operators in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf are producing more oil and gas than ever before and it all begins with drilling the well.”
BSEE engineers consider well design, capabilities of safety barriers such as the blowout preventer, environmental determinations and other components involved in drilling a well through the application review and analysis, all of these considerations are done to ensure that offshore operations are conducted according to both industry and regulatory safety and environmental standards.
To date, nine wells have been completed in 2017, and 33 wells are currently being drilled on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The economic activity surrounding an offshore drilling project is extensive; it involves the contracting of the rig, the manufacturing of the drill pipe and casing strings, to suppling drilling mud, and the multitude of services required for a successful project.
Federal permits for offshore wells have been issued for more than six decades throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Pacific and Arctic oceans. As America continues to move forward on its path to energy dominance, BSEE plays a vital role in ensuring safe and environmentally-responsible operations to secure reliable and efficient energy production for America’s future.
