From Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, May 3, 2010 - 6:34 p.m.
Oil firms seek delay of probe into Arctic offshore rules in light of Gulf spill
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CALGARY - Hearings into offshore drilling rules in the Arctic should be put on hold until the causes of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are determined, a handful of oil companies told the federal energy watchdog Monday.
The National Energy Board was reviewing its policies for drilling in the Beaufort Sea when an oil rig exploded off the Louisiana coast on April 20, spilling an estimated 757,000 litres of oil into the Gulf per day.
"Given this very tragic incident in the Gulf of Mexico, we've asked the parties, 'what do you think we should do about this proceeding?"' said NEB spokeswoman Sarah Kiley.
The Deep Horizon rig, owned by Transocean Inc., was drilling a well for BP PLC when a blast occurred, killing 11 people. Both companies are also active in the Arctic.
The NEB is examining its requirement that companies be ready to drill relief wells, which help contain oil spills in the event of a blowout, in the same season their original wells are drilled.
Since the Arctic environment only allows for two or three months of offshore drilling each year, the companies have been pressing the NEB to relax its same-season relief well capability rule.
A written hearing into the matter is underway, and the parties were set to meet for a question-and-answer session with the NEB in Inuvik, N.W.T. next month, Kiley said.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) and Transocean asked the NEB to put the proceedings on the backburner.
"It is ConocoPhillips position that all stakeholders will benefit from investigation findings into the cause(s) of this incident as well as initial lessons learned from the incident response," ConocoPhillips wrote in its letter to the NEB.
"Findings from the investigation into this serious incident can provide valuable lessons for industry to improve plans for future drilling programs. In addition, proceeding with the process at this time will result in speculation on the cause(s) of the incident."
The Northwest Territories and the Inuvialuit Game Council also agreed that the proceedings should be postponed.
For its part, BP said in its letter it is focusing on its cleanup efforts in the Gulf, and won't be prepared to comment on the Arctic rules until its own investigation wraps up.
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