New offshore safety rules would make drilling some wells too difficult,...
More than a dozen oil companies and drilling contractors joined leading industry trade groups in pushing back against proposed federal mandates for offshore wells they say would make some impossible to...
View ArticleObama administration OKs Arctic drilling, but imposes big constraints on Shell
Shell could begin work within days, but the government-imposed restrictions could keep its drill bits from reaching potential oil-bearing rock thousands of feet below the surface of the Chukchi Sea.
View ArticleShell asks feds for go-ahead to drill deeper in Arctic
For now, Shell is restricted to drilling the top 3,000 feet of its Burger J well in the Chukchi Sea.
View ArticleHouston’s Black Elk Energy facing criminal charges for fatal Gulf explosion
Houston-based Black Elk Energy faces six criminal counts for a blast at a Gulf of Mexico production platform that killed three workers and injured others.
View ArticleObama administration gives OK to Shell to drill deeper in Arctic
Shell has already been drilling the well for more than two weeks. But BSEE had ordered the company to halt after completing the top 3,000 feet, because critical emergency equipment were not nearby to...
View ArticleDetails on fight against decade-long Gulf oil spill to be released under...
Details about a chronic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico will be disclosed as part of the settlement agreement between Taylor Energy and environmental groups.
View ArticleInvestigation faults slow response and equipment failure in 2013 blowout of...
Workers reacted too slowly to stop a Gulf of Mexico well blowout that forced the evacuation of 44 people and ignited a fire that raged for two days in 2013, according to a federal investigation.
View ArticleObama administration plan would ensure energy companies pay to scrap old...
The move by the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is designed to ensure that the companies have set aside enough money to dismantle offshore facilities once oil and gas stops...
View ArticleObama administration closes off two avenues for new Arctic drilling
The Interior Department announced it was canceling government auctions of drilling rights in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, previously scheduled for 2016 and 2017 respectively. At the same time, it...
View ArticleFeds probing death of worker on Gulf drillship
The worker on the Pacific Santa Ana was killed as the drillship prepared to bore a well for Chevron, BP and ConocoPhillips.
View ArticleCommentary: Proposed well standards bring accountability to offshore safety
Industry standards alone won't ensure improved offshore safety because they lack the force of law, says the head of the federal agency that regulates the offshore industry.
View ArticleCommentary: More dialogue needed on BSEE well control rule
By Erik Milito Safe, responsible energy development in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond is vital to the U.S. economy and job growth, as well as U.S. energy and national security. Joint efforts from the...
View ArticleIndustry study predicts Gulf drilling plummet from safety rule
Announced last April by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel, the rule would tighten standards on blowout preventers - the device that failed in the case of Deepwater - as well as put more controls on...
View ArticleTop U.S. official says adjustments made on offshore drilling rule, following...
Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said changes to the new offshore drilling standards had merely codified what was standard practice at his agency - that...
View ArticleNASA brought in to advise on reducing offshore drilling risk
The Bureau of of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced Thursday that NASA has agreed to advise them on reducing the risk of accidents offshore.
View ArticleNew offshore drilling rules announced, six years after Deepwater Horizon
Officials said the regulatory overhaul has undergone considerable revision since a draft proposal was released last year, drawing on "an unprecedented level of stakeholder outreach," U.S. Interior...
View ArticleOffshore drilling’s top cop tours OTC
Selling the high-tech equipment used to extract oil deep from beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico is one thing. But what about when the offshore drilling industry's top cop wants to know how your...
View ArticleOffshore drilling regulator warns of bolt failures in Gulf of Mexico
Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said so far the failures had not resulted in any major oil leaks or other incidents but the rapid corrosion concerned...
View ArticleBSEE Director urges offshore companies to share drilling data
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Brian Salerno said Thursday that regulators the offshore oil and gas industry and need to do a better job sharing the vast volumes of drilling...
View ArticleFederal offshore chief calls for urgency in bolt failure inquiry
The federal government’s top offshore drilling regulator said Monday that regulators and the oil and gas industry need to figure out why bolts are failing on undersea equipment used in offshore...
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