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Four oil companies announce $1-billion initiative to improve spill preparedness
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Four oil companies announce $1-billion initiative to improve spill preparedness
Four large oil companies are attempting to convince the Obama administration to lift the temporary moratorium on deepwater drilling by taking preventative action.
Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell have announced plans to voluntarily create a $1-billion initiative to develop a set of containment equipment and procedures that can be deployed to handle deepwater oil spills and problems, the New York Times reports. The partners have committed $250 million each and hope to involve all companies that participate in offshore drilling in the gulf, including BP.
The initiative proposes to construct a set of modular containers, as well as underwater systems and pipelines, that enable them to respond within 24 hours of an offshore spill and have it fully contained within weeks, Sara Ortwein, vice president of engineering at Exxon, told the paper. The partners have estimated that once in place, the system would be able to contain spills as deep as 10,000 feet and up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day.
In addition, the companies have announced the creation of the Marine Well Containment Company, a nonprofit organization that will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the emergency initiative. The nonprofit will also serve as a research facility to finance new methods of containing spills.
After the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP’s subsequent failure to contain the spill in a timely manner, oil companies are facing an uphill battle to regain public confidence as Congress – and the nation – call for greater industry regulations. According to the Times, Congress is considering a proposal that would require companies to drill a relief well for every initial well they create.
Ongoing relief efforts are currently being threatened by a tropical depression that may force drill rigs, support ships and other vessels to evacuate the area for a week or more. Remotely operating submersibles would be able to continue monitoring the recently capped well during the storm.
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