By Georgina McCartney
HOUSTON- The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) rolled out new rules for US offshore drillers on Tuesday, as breakthrough technology enables them to operate under extreme subsea pressures and unlock billions in untapped oil reserves.
BSEE’s final rule comes after Chevron in August started production at its Anchor asset, owned with TotalEnergies which was the first ever project to operate at 20,000 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure, reaching reservoir depths of 34,000 feet (10,363 m).
The new technology could unlock some 5 billion barrels of previously inaccessible crude globally, or about 50 days of current production, analysts have said, but some safety concerns have loomed.
British oil major BP was drilling at 15,000 PSI when a blowout on its Deepwater Horizon project killed 11 workers and spilled 3.19 million barrels of oil into the US Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
BSEE’s final rules apply to projects with more than 15,000 PSI, or temperatures of more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177°C).
They add some specific equipment and reporting requirements on new technology projects, and in some cases will require third parties to review some information before submission to BSEE, for projects that will operate offshore in high pressure, high temperature conditions.
“Historically, most oilfield equipment has not been designed to withstand such high pressures and temperatures,” BSEE’s final rule reads. “High-pressure, high temperature-associated operations require the use of equipment that exists at the limits of current technology and lacks a long operational history.”
The latest regulations aim to improve safety and clarity to the industry as it expects the number of ultra-high pressure projects to increase.
BP early next year will begin ultra-high-pressure drilling of 20,000 PSI at its Kaskida field in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil major on Tuesday awarded oilfield services firm SLB a contract for a subsea boosting system for the project. – Reuters
