A former Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P) drilling manager has been charged with making false statements to the Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General regarding a key safety device on a Gulf of Mexico drilling rig. Donald Hudson, 49, of Walnut Grove, MS, was employed by H&P as the drilling rig manager for Rig 206 from Oct. 14, 2009 until May 27, 2010. Rig 206’s blowout preventer (BOP), like other BOP systems, has to be pressure tested at regular intervals prior to continued drilling operations, and results of the tests, including any problems or irregularities, also are to be recorded. On March 30, 2011 Hudson allegedly lied to investigators about instructing the rig’s crew to falsify BOP testing results, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, who oversees the Eastern District of Louisiana. Testimony by other crew members revealed that Hudson had told the crew to close valves on the BOP choke manifold to prevent leaks, said Letten. In May 2011 H&P indicated in a regulatory filing that it suspended operations on an offshore rig after an employee reported possible “testing irregularities” and said “certain employees” were fired. No environmental or other harm occurred and the BOP system ultimately was repaired, Letten noted. If Hudson is found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release following a prison term.
Interior
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Industry Brief
The Interior Department’s first assessment of the shale potential of Alaska’s North Slope found the potential for up to 2 billion bbl of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 80 Tcf of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). “We looked under the entire North Slope of Alaska,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt, who called it a landmark study. The results will enable industry to make “good seismic decisions,” will guide their investments, said Anne Castle, assistant secretary of water and science. Alaska’s shale resources “hold great promise,” but production has never been attempted due to the infrastructure challenges, Castle noted. Three source rocks of the Alaska North Slope were assessed in the study: the Triassic Shublik Formation, the lower part of the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale, and the Cretaceous pebble shale unit-Hue Shale, according to USGS. It said those shale formations are known to have generated oil and gas that migrated into conventional accumulations, including the Prudhoe Bay field. But the shales also likely retain oil and gas that did not migrate. If the shale gas should be developed, it’s remains an open questions as to whether it could make its way to the United States, which lacks pipelines and/or a West Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal for the gas to be delivered. The nation’s sole export terminal, located in Kenai, AK, exports LNG to Asian markets.
BLM Reduces Piceance Acreage Available for Oil Shale, Tar Sands
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Friday issued a draft proposal, cutting in half the public lands that could be made available in three western states, and limiting activities to early research and development projects for oil shale and tar sands resources.
BLM Reduces Piceance Acreage Available for Oil Shale, Tar Sands
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Friday issued a draft proposal, cutting in half the public lands that could be made available in three western states, and limiting activities to early research and development projects for oil shale and tar sands resources.
BLM Draft Cuts Western Land for Oil Shale, Tar Sands
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Friday issued a draft proposal to slice in half the public lands available for development in three western states, and to limit activities to early research and development projects for oil shale and tar sands resources.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Picked to Head BSEE
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has tapped U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral James A. Watson IV to be director of the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (BSEE).
API: Reject George Washington Forest Horizontal Drill Ban
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is urging the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to reject proposals to ban horizontal drilling in the 1.1-million-acre George Washington National Forest (GWNF) in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. API said a ban would amount to “an arbitrary and unprecedented shift in national energy policy through the forest management planning process.”
With Decision, Shell Eyes Offshore Alaska in 2012
The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has filed its record of decision (ROD) on a 2008 federal oil and natural gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea offshore Alaska, affirming the sale to Shell Oil Co. over the objections of challengers.
BOEM Tools Expedite Offshore Permit Process
The Interior Department’s offshore safety agency said last Tuesday it has implemented several new tools to help oil and natural gas operators improve the quality of their submitted exploration and development plans and permit applications, and thus expedite the processing of them.
BOEM Unveils Tools to Limit Returned Permit Applications
The Interior Department’s offshore safety agency said Tuesday it has implemented several tools to help oil and natural gas operators improve the quality of their submitted exploration and development plans and permit applications, and thus expedite the processing of them.
