The oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has triggered a federal drilling moratorium in deep-sea waters within the Gulf. The drilling ban has been loudly criticized by the oil industry. But the drilling moratorium could eventually be canceled because of the cooperative effort of four oil companies. A $1 billion fund has been set up by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell to develop a rapid oil spill response system for the gulf. In the mean time, a procedure called a “static kill” could possibly be attempted by BP that could permanently plug the ruptured well this weekend. But the procedure may be postponed by an approaching tropical storm.
Deep water oil spill response system
The drilling moratorium resulting from the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 was a wakeup call for the oil industry. Billions of dollars have been spent figuring out how to drill deeper and deeper wells, while oil spill cleanup technology has languished on the shelf. The New York Times reports that the initial funding for the rapid response system could be used to build containment equipment, including underwater systems and pipelines, that can be able to deal with deep water mishaps. Participating oil companies expect the system will be able to operate as deep as 10,000 feet and capture 100,000 barrels of oil a day.
Drilling moratorium’s end main objective of new system
Oil companies hope the oil spill response initiative will help persuade government regulators to lift the six-month ban on deep water drilling as soon as possible. The Wall Street Journal reports that the system resembles the one developed by BP during three months of trial and error after the Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 . A non-profit venture called the Marine Well Containment Business will develop the system within the next 18 months.
Oil spill containment threatened by weather
The BP oil leak could be sealed permanently this weekend with a tactic called a “static kill”. CNN reports that the static kill consists of forcing oil back to the reservoir by pumping mud to the well. Because pressure in the well is lower than expected, BP officials say the static kill could work where comparable approaches have failed. Meantime, work on the relief well that is intended to be the permanent fix at the end of the month continues. .
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