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Shell moves support rigs north

August 10th 2:38 pm | Carey Restino Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Three of Shell Oil's ships are headed north from Unalaska this week in hopes that ice will clear enough to allow some preparatory work to be done prior to the arrival of drill ships.

The Shell support vessels the Aiviq and Fennica as well as the ice breaker Tor Viking are on their way to the Chukchi Sea, where the company hope to bring putting anchors in place for the drill rig Discoverer to attach to once it arrives.

Ice isn't the only thing slowing things down for the company, which announced in recent weeks that it was scaling back its plans for this drilling season. It had originally planned to drill five wells in the Arctic this summer — two in the Beaufort Sea and three in the Chukchi Sea. Now, it has revised that plan and is shooting for two wells in the Chukchi and possibly drilling some preliminary casing holes in the Beaufort, then capping them off until next year.

Shell is also waiting on Coast Guard certification for its spill response barge, the Arctic Challenger, which is still in Bellingham being worked on and waiting for final certification.

Spokesman for Shell Curtis Smith said while it is disappointing not to have the barge on scene already, it is understandable given that it is the first of its kind.

"Everything has to be custom-built," said Smith.

Another wrinkle in the Shell plan is the Environmental Protection Agency air quality permit. The two generators that run the drill bit for the Discoverer exceed the allowable emissions for the permit Shell holds on the rig, although the total emissions for the rig overall will not be exceeded. Shell contends that it is impossible to meet the emission requirements as stated by the EPA given currently available technology. Smith said the company has filed an application for compliance - essentially a waiver - with the EPA, which would allow it to work with the existing permit this year while working with the EPA to revise the emission requirement in the future.

"We feel good that EPA will work with us for this year," he said.

If such a revision is issued by the EPA, the company plans to move forward with its two wells this year, with an eye on the overall plan to drill up to 10 wells in the Arctic by 2013 — six in the Chukchi Sea and four in the Beaufort Sea.

Ice, however, is a factor. This year's icepack has been reluctant to move, with an advisory issued in the Barrow area just last weekend for ice to be blown back in to shore by a strong storm system. While such ice movement isn't unexpected, it is slowing down Shell's plans. The company has pledged not to break its way to drilling sites.

"We are watching the ice," Smith said. "All eyes internally are focused on what the ice is doing. We are not there to be breaking through a bunch of ice."

If the ice clears out of the Beaufort as predicted in late August and early September, Shell may go in and attempt to predrill a well or two in the area, drilling down to 2,500 feet, then putting in a cement casing that would allow the hole to be capped and revisited in the future.

Smith said the technique was used in the arctic in the '80s and '90s with success.

Carey Restino can be reached at crestino@reportalaska.com.

 

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