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Helix Well Containment Group News

28 May 2015

Five Years on from Macondo

An interview with NOIA’s Randall Luthi provides unique perspective on where the offshore energy business has been, where it is now, and where it could be headed next. It is a predictable but at the same time, an important anniversary to examine: five years beyond the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which began on 20 April 2010 on the BP-owned, Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. Widely considered to be the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the energy industry, oil flowed from the sea floor for 87 days until capped in mid-July. The environmental impact is well documented, the ultimate impact of the incident on the offshore and oil industries today has been profound, lasting and without a doubt, it made the offshore business safer.

08 May 2013

Subsea Well Blowout Response Tested in GofM

James Watson: Photo credit BSEE

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Noble Energy, Inc. and the Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) participated in the exercise. A full-scale deployment of critical well control equipment was employed to assess  Noble Energy’s ability to respond to a potential subsea blowout in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. BSEE Director James Watson confirmed that the HWCG capping stack deployed for the exercise met the pressurization requirements of the drill scenario, marking successful completion of the exercise.

30 Apr 2013

Director Watson Leads Deepwater O&G Containment Exercise

Director Jim Watson

As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the oil and gas industry’s ability to respond in the event of a deepwater blowout and ensure that offshore oil and gas production can continue to expand safely and responsibly, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Jim Watson launched an unannounced exercise to deploy critical pieces of state-of-the-art well control equipment to the ultra-deep seabed of the Gulf of Mexico. The exercise employs Helix Well Containment Group’s capping stack system…

24 May 2012

Salazar Directs Deepwater Oil & Gas Containment Exercise

MWCC to Deploy Capping Stack for Exercise in the Gulf. As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the oil and gas industry’s ability to respond in the event of a deepwater blowout and ensure that offshore oil and gas production can continue to expand safely and responsibly, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today charged the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) with conducting a live drill this summer to deploy critical pieces of state-of-the-art well control equipment in the Gulf of Mexico.

08 Apr 2011

BOEMRE Approves Operations for Ninth Deepwater Well

NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved a deepwater permit for the drilling of a ninth well that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to sidetrack for Murphy Exploration & Production Company Well #A008 in Green Canyon Block 338 in 3…

04 Apr 2011

BOEMRE Approves Operations for Eighth Deepwater Well

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved a deepwater permit for the drilling of an eighth well that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a permit to sidetrack for ENI US Operating Co Inc.’s Well #SS001 in Mississippi Canyon Block 460 in 2,823 ft. water depth, approximately 57 miles southeast of Venice, La. “This is the eighth deepwater well permitted to drill since February 17, when industry demonstrated that it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

25 Mar 2011

BOEMRE Approves Sixth Deepwater Drilling Permit

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved a sixth deepwater drilling permit on March 25 that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to drill a new well for Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC’s Well #1 in Alaminos Canyon Block 810 in 7,134 ft. water depth, approximately 216 miles off the Texas coastline, south of Texas City. “This permit is the sixth we have approved since February 17, when industry demonstrated that it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills.

18 Mar 2011

BOEMRE Approves Third Deepwater Drilling Permit

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today approved a third  additional deepwater drilling permit that complies with all of the new safety standards, including demonstrated containment capacity, implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. The approved permit is a revised permit to drill a new well for ATP Oil & Gas Corporation’s Well #4 in Mississippi Canyon Block 941, located approximately 90 miles south of Venice, La. “This permit approval demonstrates that deepwater drilling can and will continue in the Gulf of Mexico provided that operators have successfully demonstrated their ability to operate safely,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

28 Feb 2011

First Deepwater Permit to Meet New Standards in GOM

On Feb. 28, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved the first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. Noble Energy’s application for a permit to bypass is for Well #2 in Mississippi Canyon Block 519, approximately 70 miles south east of Venice, La. “This permit represents a significant milestone for us and for the offshore oil and gas industry, and is an important step towards safely developing deepwater energy supplies offshore,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “This permit was issued for one simple reason: the operator successfully demonstrated that it can drill its deepwater well safely and that it is capable of containing a subsea blowout if it were to occur.